Eternal Snow
by lady-warrioress
Summary: Changes happen unexpectantly. Hiei's body is going through some changes. Botan is worried that a certain secret will come out. How will they be able to deal with this during winter vacation? HB if you read please leave a review. Thank you
1. Chapter 1

Chpater 1

Botan lugged her suitcase down down the sidewalk of her appartment building and toward Shizuru Kuwabara's station wagon. Over her left shoulder she carried her skis while she wore her ski jacket and pants. She could already spot Yusuke, Keiko, Kuwabara and Yukina in the car which ment they still had to go pick up Hiei and Kurama. When the blue haired onna reached the cat Shizuru popped the trunk and Kuwabara got out to help Botan put her things inside. When they were done she climbed into the back seat next to Keiko.

"Now to get the others," Shizuru said, pulling out of the parking lot.

Ad the drove across the city to Kurama's neighborhood Keiko, Yukina, and Botan talked about the trip they were all taking. It was winter vacation so Yusuke and the others at his school had the whole week to do what they wanted. It had been Yusuke's idea to go into the mountains on a ski trip.

"This is so exciting!" Botan squealed happily. "I can't _wait_ to try out my new skis!"

"I can't wait to go ice skating," Keiko said, glancing at Yusuke who sat infront of them. "Maybe Yusuke and I can pair up and enter the skating contest."

Yusuke didn't comment but he looked nervous at the idea.

By that time Shizuru has reached Kurama's house and blew the car horn. Botan watched Kurama come outside with his suitcase and ski equiptment. She saw Hiei jump out of a nearby tree and follow his friend to the car, looking grumpy (He'd spent the night there). He wasn't happy about the trip but he felt he had to come. He'd been tricked into going. The onna noticed, like always, he wasn't bringing anything with him, not even a change of clothes.

After Kurama finished loading his stuff into the car and roof rack, he and Hiei climbed into the station wagon. Kurama sat down beside Yukina and Hiei wound up beside Botan though he looked like he'd rather sit next to his sister. He gave Kurama an annoyed look then glared out the window, looking miserable.

_Doesn't he like snow? _she wondered, as she watched him watch the landscape go by.

"Hiei?" she said finally.

He looked at her without moving his head. "Hn?"

"Don't you like snow?" she asked.

Now he did turn his head. His red eyes showed something in them that she couldn't read. He seemed to be telling her something without using words. It made her nervous.

"Uh...," she began.

"Hn." he looked away from her.

_What was that about? _she wondered, staring at the side of his face then out the window.

By then the scenery had changed. The city was now miles behind them and now they were passing through a snow covered forest. The ferry girl figured they wouldn't reach the ski lodge for about three hours so she decided to just sit back and enjoy the ride. She took her ipod out of her jacket pocket and put the ear phones in her ears. She turned the device on and started listening to "My December" by Linkin Park. She bopped her head to the music then closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat.

_We'll stop for lunch in about an hour I think, _she thought. _Too bad we can't just go straight there. I can't **wait **to try out my new skis!_

About an hour later Shizuru pulled the car into the parking lot of a road side fast food place and turned off the engine. As everyone got out Botan noticed Hiei remained where he was. He didn't meet anyone's eyes as they climbed out and continued to stare out the window with glazed over eyes. Botan stopped walking a few feet away from the car and watched him a moment. He still hadn't moved. She involuntarily headed back to the car.

Hiei saw her coming and immediately felt annoyed. He didn't need this. When she stopped infront of his window he snapped. "What?!" in a voice that told her instantly that he wanted to be alone.

"Aren't you coming in to eat?" she asked, leaning against the window and peering at him through the glass.

"Hn!" Hiei grunted as he crossed his arms and looked away from her. "I'm not hungry."

"You aren't?" she asked. She distinctly remembered Kurama yelling at his friend for not eating breakfast. She didn't know how long it took for demons to get hungry but twelve hours was probably enough time. "Are you sure?"

He turned his head to glare at her. "I-not-Hungry!" he said again.

"Okay," she said backing off. "Sorry."

Shed turned away from him and headed into the building, wondering why he hadn't wanted to come in. _Is he still mad about being tricked into coming? _she wondered.

When she entered she found her friends had already sat down to eat. Botan quickly ordered something then brought it over to the table where her friends were seated. She sat down and picked up the big juicy burger.

She was about to bite into it when Yukina asked. "Where's Hiei?"

"In the car," the blue ahirewd girl replied, her mouth watering at the sight of the burger she was postponed from eating.

Kurama dropped his own onto the table "What's he doing out there?" he asked.

Botan shrugged. "Who knows," she said. "He says he's not hungry."

Kurama's face suddenly changed. The expression it morphed into was something the girl hardly ever saw on him. Anger and disgust. "No here," she heard him mutter. "Not now of all times!"

_What's wrong with him? _she wondered. _Is he mad at Hiei for not wanting to eat with us? Come to think of it, Hiei's always like that. _She felt a little defensive for the fire demon but said nothing.

By then Kurama was even angrier. He slammed his fists down on the table and stood up. '"Excuse me," he said to Shizuru who was sitting beside him. "I have someone I need to talk to."

Shizuru nodded and let him out. Botan watched the red head stalk out of the building, looking determine.

_What's that about? _she wondered. _What's going on here?_

A few minutes later Kurama came back in with a very grumpy Hiei not too far behind. The ferry girl could tell by his face that he wasn't happy about being yelled at by his best friend or being forced to socialize. While the group made room for Hiei in their booth Kurama went up to the counter and ordered something. When he got it he brought it over and plopped it onto the table infront of Hiei before he sat down. The fire demon glared at the burger like it was some kind of parasite.

Yukina gave Hiei a look. "Are you okay, Hiei-sama?" she asked, looking worried.

He looked at his sister. "I'm fine," he said in what sounded like a cival voice. He almost always talked that way infront of her.

"Then why aren't you eating?" she asked glancing at him then the burger.

"I am," he said picking it up and biting into it. "See?" he said, his mouth full of food.

Botan saw the demon's face scrunch up with disgust. She knew he couldn't stand food from the living world, with the exception of ice cream, and had only made an exception here because he didn't want to upset his sister. The ferry girl just hoped it wouldn't make him sick. She wouldn't be able to stand it if he puked in the car.

_Yuck! That's gross!_

A few minutes later the group left the fast food place and piled back into the car. Botan wound up sitting between Hiei and Yukina this time but she didn't really mind. While Yukina talked to the onna Hiei instantly fell asleep and didn't wake up until they got to their destination.

Botan watched the fire demon sleeping. She'd noticed he was acting very unlike himself lately. He seemed grouchier than usual and even more anti-social. What was going on with him? She wondered. That trip wasn't that bad. After all; he'd been forced to go to _worse _places than this!

_It must be something else, _she figured, turning back to Yukina. _But what?_

* * *

About an hour later Shizuru pulled her car into the parking lot of the ski resort and turned off the engine. "We're here," she said to everyone in the back.

As Keiko and the other got out Botan reached over and shook Hiei lightly on the shoulder. "Hiei," she said. "Wakey wakey!"

The fire demon groaned and opened his eyes. His red ones locked with her candy ones. "What?" he demanded crossly.

"We're here," she said smiling. "Time to get out of the car."

He scowled at her but did so, sighing with annoyance. Botan followed him out and joined her friends in getting their luggage. Hiei stood a few feet away, waiting for them, looking quite unhappy. When they were done he followed them into the lodge, constantly walking a short distance behind.

_A/N_

_Phew. This is my very first REAL HieiBotan fanfic with chapters. I'm going to try my best to make it great and keep them in character as much as I can. I hope they weren't too out of character or out of character at all in this chap. If they were; sorry about that. You'll find out what Hiei's problem is later. _


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Hiei stood in the lobby with the others as they got their room numbers and keys. It looked like it might take awhile so he looked away and stared outside the glass doors that led outside at the snowcovered landscape. He wasn't happy. He hadn't even wanted to come. It was Yusuke's fault he'd even considered it. The stupid teenager had convienantly mentioned Yukina would be there as well as the dopey love struck Kuwabara. He'd gone as far as suggesting that the two might do something that Hiei would disapprove of, like sleep together.

Hiei had thrown a fit at that suggestion and said he would come to 'protect' his sister and that was all. He'd protect her all right. He'd make sure Kuwabara behaved himself and kept his mitts off the ice maiden. The fire demon still disapproved of the whole thing and would have prefered Yukina dating someone else, like Kurama, but that wasn't going to happen since the fox was dating Shizuru.

The fire demon took his eyes off the snowy landscape. He couldn't stand looking at it any longer. It reminded him too much of the ice maiden's world in the Makai. The place where he'd been rejected. _Snow..._

"Hiei," a voice brought him out of his thoughts.

He blinked then stared at Kurama who stood in front of him with a room key card. "I have the keys to our room."

"What is that suppost to mean?" Hiei demanded, feeling irritable.

Kurama stared at his friend in surprise. _Something's wrong all right. "_It doesn't mean anything," he answered. "we're sharing a hotel suit like we did during the Dark Tournament."

"Hn," was all the fire demon said before he turned away, grabbed the key, and followed the others into the elevator.

Kurama watched him go, feeling confused about his friend's behavior. _What is wrong with him? _the fox wondered. _This trip isn't that bad. There is no reason for him to be acting that way. It's very unlike him not to eat something, even if he doesn't like it. Does he want to get sick or something? Will I need to talk to him again?_

* * *

Hiei could feel Kurama's eyes on him as he stepped into the elevator. _Don't even try to figure it out, fox, _he thought, wanting to be anywhere but there. _You'll never be able to. It's more complicated than you think and forcing me or tricking me to go on this trip isn't helping. I do not plan on enjoying myself. There's too much... distraction..._

Botan noticed Hiei's overly grouchy expression and wondered what was bothering him now. _It can't be me, _she thought. _I didn't do anything. Did Kurama say something to him? I did see them talking. Was he scolded for his attitude?_

_Mind your own business, onna, _a voice in her head ordered.

Botan gasped and looked at Hiei. He was ignoring her but the area covered by a white bandana on his forehead was glowing a soft red color. Botan frowned at him, feeling invaded. Hiei had been reading her mind.

She was annoyed. _How dare he read my mind without my permission! _she thought, indignant.

She would have said something to him but the elevator door opened just then and the group stepped out on their floor. Botan followed Keiko, Yukina, and Shizuru down the hall to their room while Hiei followed Yusuke and Kuwabara to theirs. Kurama was still on the first floor, not that it mattered much. He'd be up soon too.

When Botan and the others girls entered their room the onna stopped to stare for a moment. The room was beautiful! It was a light blue color with snow white trimming. The sofa and love seats were also white as well as the coffee table while the carpet was blue. Two sliding glass doors, that also posed as a window, let in the afternoon sunlight. It served as a frame for the view as well which Botan could see very clearly from there. The onna spotted a balcony just outside their sliding doors and a light blue table with a umbrella and chairs on it.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, walking into the room and running her hand over the furniture. "This is great!" she headed toward the glass doors and looked out at the view. "Bingo!"

She could see for miles! She could see mountains that seemed to go on forever. _This is great! _she thought, looking down toward the forest. _They even have a skating pond! I just hope the slopes are great. _

She slid the door open and stepped out onto the balconey. The cold and a few snow flurries bit her cheek gently the instant she stepped outside. The onna leaned against the railing and breathed in the fresh mountain air. _I have a feeling this week is going to be wonderful!_

* * *

When Hiei and the other boys entered their room Yusuke took one look around and exclaimed. "Awesome!" he flopped onto the couch and flicked on the TV. "Hey they have satelellite! Sweet!"

Kuwabara sat on the couch and picked up the remote. He changed channels.

"Hey!" Yusuke exclaimed, making a grab for the remote. "I was watching something!"

"Too bad, punk!" Kuwa said, holding the remote just out of his friends reach. "_My Little Ponies _on!"

"_My Little Pony?" _Yusuke cracked up. "You watch _My Little Pony?!"_

"So what?" the carrot top asked, feeling defensive. "_Real _men watch _My Little Pony."_

"Real _gay _men!"

"You take that back!"

"No."

Hiei rolled his eyes and ignored the squabling boys. He headed toward the balconey and slid the sliding door open. He stepped outside and the cold air bit into his face. He ignored the cold and glared at the mountains in the distance. _One week, _he told himself. _Just one week. I can keep it in check for that long..._

"I'm queen of the world!" someone shouted in a loud obnoxious voice.

Hiei flinched at the sound then turned his head toward the sound. He saw Botan standing on the balconey for the room next to his, her head back and her arms stretched out wide, as if she were drinking in the snow and wind.

_Stupid onna, _he thought looking away from her. It was bad enough he was sharing a hotel suit with three idiots but now he would have to put with with the blue haired girl being in the other room. This was a recipe for disaster. Then he thought it would be interesting to get on the girl's nerves. He vanished then reappeared on the other balconey, right behind the onna.

"If you stand out here to long without a coat on you'll turn into a Snow Queen, baka," he said.

Botan gasped and turned around. Hiei stood behind her, blocking the door and smirking.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"My room's next to yours," he answered, still smirking.

The girl blinked. "You are?" she asked. She sounded surprised.

"Yes," he said, folding his arms. "That means we'll be neighbors."

"Yeah I guess we will," she said, also folding her arms. "So is that the only reason you came over here or was it something else?"

"Hn," he sneered at her. "What could I possibly have to say to _you_?"

"I don't know," she said, shaking her head. "I don't know how your mind works."

The wind picked up and the cold air and snow blew around them. Botan shivered slightly and rubbed her arms for warmth.

Hiei watched her do this then stepped away from the sliding door. "You'd better get inside," he told her in a voice that seemed strangely concerned. "Unless you watch to catch cold."

Botan started to say something but Hiei vanished in a flash of black. She looked over to the other balconey and saw him standing there, staring at her with a weird expression on his usually stone cold face. When he saw her staring he glared at her before he turned and went back into his own room.

_What was that about? _she wondered.

_A/N_

_Yusuke knows how to get under Hiei's skin.  
_

_I hope that turned out okay. I had to fix a few mistakes in this chapter and change some stuff but I'm satisfied. I hope they were in character. Let me know what ya think okay?  
PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW!_


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

That evening, after everyone has eaten supper, Hiei returned to the room he was sharing with the other boys. The others had gone to the lodge lounge for hot chocolate but the fire demon didn't feel like sociolizings. He had other things on his mind. When he stepped into the suite the fire demon headed over to the balconey and slid the glass doors open. He stepped outside. It had gotten colder but the snow didn't seem to be coming down any harder. He turned his face to the sky and saw the almost full moon trying to peek out from behind the clouds. It looked like it was going to clear up soon. Not that he cared one way or another. He just wanted to be outside where the weather was chilly and would cool him down.

A cold wind picked up and blasted cold air and snow in his face. He put an arm up to block the frozen spray and stepped back itno the room and closed the door. He dropped his arm and glared at the snowflakes.

_Damn it! _he thought, a low growl rising in his throat. _I just wanted a few minutes! I few minutes! _He pounded his fist on the window. _Give me a break!_

Just then he heard footsteps and voices in the hall and realized the others had come back earlier than expected. He still didn't feel like talking. He sighed and slid the doors open again. He ignored the wind as he stepped outside and into the snow. He didn't look back as he stood up on the balconey and jumped off.

* * *

Botan and the other girls went to bed as soon as they arrived in their room an hour later. They were tired from the trip up so none of them really put up a fight when Shizuru suggested they hit the sack early. The ferry girl fell asleep snuggled up in a warm thick blanket and feature soft mattress. It felt nice to be in such a cozy enviorment.

A few hours late Botan woke to complete silence. The wind was no longer blowing outside and everything was calm. Even so, the ferry girl didn't feel right about something. She just couldn't quite put her finger on it. Throwing aside her blankets, she climbed out of bed and stepping into the lvingroom area. Moonlight streamed in the sliding glass doors and illuminated the room in a slivery light. Botan walked up to the doors and looked outside at the scenery. The sky was perfectly clear with an almost full moon hanging low in the dark blue sky. The moonlight illuminated everything in view and made the snow glitter. The sight was beautiful and Botan sighed with happyness.

Suddenly she spotted something below. Curious she opened the sliding glass door and stepped out onto the balconey, for a closer look. She could just make out a black figure standing in the snow a short distance from the skating pond.

_Is that Hiei? _she wondered, leaning closer for a better look. The figure moved a little and she recognized it as Hiei. _What's he doing down there?_

She decided to find out. She raised her hand and her oar appeared in it. She climbed onto it and flew down to him. "Hiei!" she called to him. "Hiei!"

The fire demon looked over his shoulder. He spotted the flying onna and glared at her. What did she want? he wondered. When she landed and hopped off the boat oar, he snapped. "What do you want?" in a way too irritated voice.

Botan was a little surprised by the way he'd spoken then reminded herself he was always this way. "What are you doing out here?" she asked instead as she walked over to him.

He took a small step back. "None of your business onna," he growled, his red eyes cold.

"Shouldn't you be in your room?" she asked, not noticing how he was acting as she rubbed her arms."I mean aren't you cold? It's freezing out here!"

"Hn," he said, looking away from her and closing his eyes. He smirked. "The cold doesn't bother me." he lied. "I'm part ice demon. I won't freeze to death.

Well the cold didn't bother him, not that much anyway but he was feeling a little cold but wasn't about to admit it to_ Botan_. That wasn't his problem with her being outside bothering him though. She was getting on his nerves and wished she'd go inside so he could figure some things out. _Damn it! Gat the hell back in your room, baka!_

"Still," Botan said. "You shouldn't be out here. You might be attacked by wolves or something.."

He turned to glare at her and she realized just how stupid that statement had been. If wolves did attack him he'd be able to deal with them.

"Why should you care, onna?" he demanded as something wet rolled down his cheek.

Botan noticed. Are you crying?" she questioned.

The fire demon went silent. His right hand involuntarily went to his cheek. When he felt the cold wettness he stiffened then brushed it off and gave her a strange look. It looked sad, angry, and upset.

"Hiei?" she asked feeling concerned for him. _Is he sad about soemthing? Does all this snow remind him of the floating island? _

Suddenly he vanished.

Botan gasped then heard the faint sound of a sliding door behind her. She turned around. She caught a glimpse of Hiei staring at her before he turned and went inside the boy's room, sliding the glass door shut behind him with a tiny click.

Botan stared at the door a moment trying to figure some things out. No answers came to her so she shrugged, hoped back onto her oar, and flew back up to her own room. _He's acting strange all right, _she thought. _I wonder what's wrong._

* * *

The next morning Botan totally forgot about it. She had other things on her mind. Like how today she was going to tackle the ski slopes. The girl stared at her skis longingly. "Just a few more hours," she told them.

"Botan!" Shizuru called, coming into her friends bedroom and giving her a look. "Aren't you coming down for breakfast?"

"Uh... yes," Botan said, looking away from her skis. "I'm coming!"

Down in the lodge cafateria the others were already seated and eating when the girls entered the room and got in line. Botan noticed that even Hiei was there but he only seemed to be drinking water or was it hot chocolate? Yukina sat next to him and beside Kuwabara who was doing something with his fruit as he smiled at the ice maiden. Botan noticed there was only one empty seat left as Shizuru sat down beside Kurama. This one happened to be on the other side of Hiei. Botan sighed. She'd just have to make due and sat down. Hiei looked at her but said nothing. He looked away from her and continued looking out the huge window at the mountain and skating pond. The ferry girl studied his intent expression a moment then set down her breakfast annd turned to Keiko who happened to be sitting on the other side of the empty chair.

"So, are you going skiing today, Keiko?" Botan asked.

Keiko looked out the huge cafateria window. It had clouded over that morning and was starting to snow again. "I don't think so," she said, looking slightly worried. "I think we're going to have a storm today..."

Botan looked out the window. "It doesn't look that bad," she said.

"Maybe not now but probably later," she said. "Either way; we can't be to careful. We can go tomarrow."

Botan frowned. There was no way she was going to wait until tomarrow. "Well I'm going," she said determinly. "Whether you come or not."

Keiko shook her head but didn't say anything. There was no stopping the onna when she was like this. The brunette just shook her head again. "Good luck," she said.

"Thanks," Botan said. "Though I doubt I'll be needing any luck..."

Botan felt soemoe's eyes boring into the back of her head just then and looked over her shoulder. Hiei was glaring at her, his eyes scolding. It was evident he didn't like her idea either.

"Baka ferry onna," he muttered, looking away from her then standing up and leaving the table.

The bluette watched him go then stuck her tongue out at his fleeing figure. _Hmph! _she thought. _Good grief! He should really mind his own business and why does he care if I go out anyway? Just because he wants to be miserable doesn't mean I have to too!_

_A/N_

_Botan's about to have one of her stupid moments. Thanks for the reviews on the other chapter. For a moment there I thought you all thought this story sucked or something. I hope I'm not dragging things out or something..._


	4. Chapter 4

**Note: This chapter was re-edited on November 22nd 2006**

CHAPTER 4

"Are you sure you want me to get you up there?" the lift operator asked Botan an hour later. He glanced up at the sky worriedly. "It looks like a storm's rolling in."

_Not this guy too, _the onna thought, rolling her eyes. "Yes," she replied, throwing her skis over her shoulder. "Now would you please get me up there?"

"Okay," the man said heading inside to start the lift. "Crazy teenagers. They'll do anything for a thrill."

Luckily Botan hadn't heard him. She was too busy thinking about skiing. When the lift started moving she hopped on and rode it to the top of the mountain. Once it got there she hopped off and headed for a black diamond trail. By then the wind had picked up but she paid little attention to it as she put on her skis. She thought it was only windy like that because she was so high up. When she was done with her skis and had reached the top of the slope she looked down at the slope then, taking a deep breath of fresh mountain air, pulled her ski goggles over her eyes and pushed forward with her poles. She instantly shot down the slope with her blue hair flying behind her like a banner.

"Woooowhoo!" she squealed as she excellerated. _This is so perfect! Too bad Keiko decided to stay at the lodge. She would have loved this!_

Little did Botan know was that it was starting to snow harder and the wind was blowing more than before. Before she knew what was happening she was blinded by a huge wall of white!

Botan screamed and instinctly covered her face with her hands, dropping her ski poles in the process. She hadn't expected to be snow blinded! When she lowered her hands she suddenly realized she wasn't on the slope anymore.

She's skied off a cliff!

_Oh my god! I'm gonna die! _she thought in panic.

Her eyes snapped shut out of reflex and she braced herself for the end which she knew was coming. She started to beat herself up and down her mind. _I should have listened to Keiko! How could I have been so stupid? The weather was a dead give away! STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!_

A few seconds later she realized she was still falling. _How high is this mountain? _Cautiously, she opened her eyes. The ground was still coming at her but at a much slower rate. _What in the world?_

Suddenly she felt a warmth at her side. She slowly turned her head to find out what it was. Black cloth and a white scarf. She looked up and took in blood ed eyes, a slightly pale face, and raven black hair. Hiei.

She gasped. _Hiei! Hiei saved me?_

The fire demon heard her gasp and looked down at her. His face held a lecture in itself and she started to wonder what she had done wrong. "What did I do?" she asked out loud.

"Hn!" they landed on a thick tree branch. Hiei didn't put her down though. If he did she'd just fall. "Stupid onna!"

"What?" she asked again.

Before he could answer, the wind picked up and the tree branch he was standing on began to sway dangerously. Hiei looked into the sky at the thick snow clouds. "There's a blizzard blowing in," he told her. "How could you be so dumb as to want to ski in this?"

Any answer she would have given him was drowned out by a loud rumbling sound.

"What's that?" she called over it as she looked around for the cause of the sound.

Hiei looked over his shoulder at the mountain behind them then started to jump quickly from tree to tree. "Avalanche," he said rather calmly as they went.

Botan peeked around his body. She saw a huge wall of snow coming at them at a rapid pace. _How are we going to get away from that? _she asked herself, instinctly grabbed onto Hiei's shoulders.

If Hiei noticed he didn't show it, he just continued his course down the mountain. He didn't seem the least bit worried that at any moment they could be buried by a wall of snow. Suddenly the branch Hiei landed on snapped. Hiei tried to regain his balance at the sudden surprise but couldn't. Almost instantly they were falling. Botan screamed and without thinking wrapped her arms around Hiei's neck and buried her face in his chest.

_I'm gonna die! _she thought as she felt their bodies falling. _We're gonna die!_

Air rushed against her back and all she heard was a roar. Cold, ice like pressure held her in place and she started praying the end would come quickly. She would have hated a slow death. She didn't _want_ a slow death! Why prolong dying anyway? Who had even come up with such a horrible idea in the first place? Botan started to feel angy toward the person who had invented choking. _No good son of a-_

"Onna," a voice said to her just then. "Botan."

_Eh?_

"Would you stop brusing me?!" the voice said again.

Botan opened her eyes and moved her face away from Hiei's chest. She looked around herself, surprised when she saw their location. They were in the forest and what seemed like a pretty good distance away from the mountain where she'd been skiing a few minutes ago. She looked toward the mountain. Yeah it was pretty far away even though she could only see it's shadow through the wall of white.

"Where are we?" she asked, looking up at the fire demon.

"Hn," he replied, looking away from her. "How am I suppost to know?"

She said nothing. He didn't have to be so _rude. _He could have just said, "I don't know."

"How far from the lodge are we?" she asked.

"How should I know?" he demanded.

Botan frowned. "Well you could use your Jagan and find out," she said, annoyed.

"Hn," he set her down and wordlessly followed her advice. His took of the bandanda covering his forehead and closed his eyes as the third opened. She watched him from her position on the ground. _I wonder how far away we are? _she thought, watching his expression. _It must be pretty far if he's taking so long._

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Botan, Hiei opened his eyes and looked down at her. "I can't see anything," he said. "There are too many trees." he looked toward the sky. "I'm going to have to get higher up."

"Wait!" Botan gasped, grabbing his arm. "What about me?"

He looked at her face questioningly. "What about you?" he asked.

"You can't just leave me!" she exclaimed, looking close to tears. "I don't want to be left alone!"

"I'm not going to leave you alone, onna," he told her, shaking his arm free. "I'm just going to get a better perspective of where we are and how far away that stupid lodge is."

"But-" she began.

He glared at her. "I'll be right back," he informed her.

Then, before she could protest anymore or try to stop him, he jumped up toward the top of the trees, looking like a black blurr as he went from branch to branch. Botan watched him do this, biting her nails and worrying. _Please don't leave me, _she thought anxiously. She knew it wasn't beyond him to leave her alone, this was _Hiei _we're talking about, but then again maybe he wouldn't. Maybe it was against his weird code of honor...

* * *

Hiei reached the top branch of the tree and let his Jagan take another look around. He felt slightly stupid for doing it before on the ground. He'd never see anything that way, then again he'd only done it because Botan was getting on his nerves... _Oh c'mon, Hiei, don't blame her for not thinking straight. You're the one with the problems going on in your body... _he shook his head to remove the thought. He could deal with his problems and he knew she was to blame. Problems or no problems. 

After a minute his eye focused on the lodge and he opened his real eyes after he realized something about the distance. He growled and clenched his fists. _Not close enough! Not close enough! _Well there was nothing he could do about that. He'd been the one who got them this far from the lodge. He'd just have to get them back. Hopefully they wouldn't have to stop anywhere for the night...

He covered his Jagan with his bandana and jumped back down where the onna was waiting. When he landed in front of her, she was ready to ask. "So how far away is it?" she looked like she was hoping he'd say, "Not far."

He couldn't lie to her. Not that he cared about her feelings anyway, he just knew she'd be disappointed. "Pretty far," he said directly. "The avalanche took us further away than I thought it had."

"How far would that be?" she asked.

He closed his eyes, put his hands in his pockets, turned away from her, and shrugged. "Pretty far," he said again. "So we'd better start walking."

This was defiantly not what Botan wanted to hear."But, but, but," she stammered. "That means we'll be walking for hours."

"So?" he asked, eyeing her up and down. "A little walking would do you good. You look like you've put on a few pounds."

"What?" her face turned red. "I beg your pardon! I am not fat!"

"Hn," he turned from her. "Whatever. If that's what you want to think..."

"How dare you!" Botan shouted, clenching her fists. "I am not getting fat, Hiei! I weigh the same as I did two years ago!"

"Like I care," he retorted.

"You're so rude!" Botan grumbled, looking away from him.

He decided to ignore that remark. Like he didn't know he was rude. And, thanks to her remark, he was not about to tell her something else he knew. He wasn't _exactly _sure about the distance. It was hard for him to calculate the distance because there had been so much snow blowing around. Even with his Jagan, it still made things complicated. But he wasn't about to tell her that. Instead he ignored her royal fit and started walking away.

Botan watched Hiei walk away. She suddenly realized she couldn't just stand there glaring at him for calling her fat. Otherwise he'd just leave her there alone. She didn't want to be left alone. Not in the middle of the woods in a blizzard. "Wait!" she exclaimed, grabbing her skis off the ground and running after him. "Hiei, wait for me!"

He stopped long enough for her to catch up then continued walking without a word. A thought crossed her mind, though. _Are you ready to stop acting like a baby now? _Hiei had talked to her through telepathy

She knew what he ment and was offended. She wanted to say something, tell him off, but chose not to. There was no way she'd win a fight with him anyway. Silently, she followed him out of the clearing and into the woods.

_A/N_

_I think this chapter came out pretty well. I don't know much about skiing because I've never been but I do know some stuff from books and movies. All well. The reason Botan went skiing was because she didn't think it was really going to blizzard that day. Sorry if they were a bit OOC if they were. I tried to keep them in character but I haven't been able to see any episodes lately. Sorry. _


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Meanwhile, back at the lodge, Keiko was sitting at the window seat in the girl's room casting worried glances outside. Botan had been gone for four hours and the storm had gotten much worse since then. The brown haired girl couldn't see more than a few feet ahead as she stared at the falling flakes of frozen water.

_This is bad, _she thought, watching the snow fall. _Where is Botan? Did she get stuck in this? Is she lost out there? Is she frozen?_

"Keiko," said a voice behind the girl.

The brunnette turned her attention away from the storm. She looked over her shoulder. She saw Shizuru standing a few feet away, holding a plate with a sandwich on it. She looked just as worried as Keiko felt.

"Sitting there like that isn't going to do any good," the older girl said, walking up to her friend and handing her the sandwich.

"I know," Keiko said, taking the plate and setting it on her lap. She wasn't very hungry. "But I can't help but worry. Botan's our friend. Aren't you woried?"

Shizuru nodded. "Yes," she replied. "I am very worried but getting all worked up about it isn't going to make her get back here faster."

"I know," Keiko said, looking away. "But I can'rt help it." she looked back out at the storm. "What if something horrible happened to her?"

"I don't think anything did," the older girl assured her. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"I hope so."

"I hope so too."

Just then Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara burst into the girl's room. The two girls looked up at the three boys. They all had the same weird expression on thweir faces.

"What?" Shizuru asked.

"Have either of you two seen Hiei?" Yusuke asked.

The two girls looked at each other and shook their heads. "No," they said. "Why? What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing," Kurama replied. "We just can't find him."

The two girls looked at each other again. "Do you think he might have-?" Keiko started.

"Might have what?" Yusuke asked.

"Do you think he might be caught in the storm too?" Keiko asked.

"What do you mean too?"

"Botan's not here either."

"Oh no!" Yusuke exclaimed. "What now? Two people are lost in that storm?"

"I think so," Keiko said, her worry going up a notch. "I just hope they're okay."

"I hope so too," Shizuru said. "Maybe they're together and had to find shelter."

"If they are together do you think...?" Yusuke began.

"Don't think like that!" Kuwabara shouted, punching Yusuke to the floor. "Besides; it wouldn't be like Hiei to try anything anyway..."

Kurama shhok is head. "What a thing to worry about when your friend is lost in a blizzard," he sad. "Yusuke, you should be more worried about if they'll live through this stom then what they'll do if they find shelter."

"Sorry," Yusuke said, standing up rubbing his head. "I am worried about them. Really."

* * *

The storm had gotten so bad that Hiei and Botan were forced to find shelter in a cave near a frozen lake. Once inside and discovered the place to be dry, Hiei started a fire then the two sat near it and watched the snow. This break gave Botan a chnace to ask Hiei something important that had been bugging her for quite some time.

"Hiei," she said slowly.

He didn't look at her but did go, "Hn," so she guessed he was waiting for her to continue.

"What were you doing on the ski slopes?" she asked.

"Watching you," he replied directly.

"Watching me?" she asked, startled at his answer. "Why?"

"I was making sure you didn't get hurt," he replied. "Since you were so stupid as to want to ski in the middle of a blizzard I decided it would be a good idea to keep an eye on you and make sure you didn't get hurt."

"Oh," she said, a little surprised that he'd wanted to keep an eye on her without being forced to. _That's so nice... Maybe I was right about him being an okay person after all. _

Then there was a silence. Hiei and Botan watched the storm outside. The only sounds that could be heard was the blizzard and the crackle of the fire. Botan started to get nervous. She hated long silences.

"Hiei," she finally said after ten minutes.

"Hn?" he asked, not looking at her.

"Why did you come with us on this vacation?" she asaked, not knowing the whole story. "I know it wasn't because you like skiing and ice skating."

"So?" he asked, not really wanting to tell her anything.

"Why did you come?" she asked again.

"To keep an eye on Yukina," he replied, still not looking at her.

"What for?" she wanted to know, not exactly sure how that could be a trick. He always kept an eye on his sister.

"Yusuke told me Yukina and that idiot Kuwabara might..." he didn't finish. He didn't want to say that part. It got under his skin too much. _Why didn't you fall inlove with Kurama?!_

"Oh," she said when he glared at her, the answer clearly written on his face. "I see."

"But knowing Kuwabara, that's not likely to happen," Hiei growled, his red eyes piercing. "Yusuke knew that but I didn't figure it out until we got here. Now I'm stuck here." he looked away from her as she noticed his face turning red. "Stuck here for five more days."

Botan suddenly felt bad for him. _It must be horrible to be tricked so easily, _she thought. _But why's he acting like it's the worst thing in the world? It's just a vacation! Everyone needs a vacation sometime, right? I wonder if he's stressed? _"I'm sorry," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't know this would upset you so much. If I had I wouldn't have asked you."

He didn't shrug her hand off. "There's no need for you to be apoligizing, onna," he informed her, not looking at her. "It's not your fault Yusuke's a dumb ass."

"Yusuke's not an ass," she stood up for the raven haired half demon. "He's just a little weird that's all."

"Hn," he said glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

_Hmmm. _She took her hand off his shoulder and sat back. "You know, if you were so worried about Kuwabara trying something and didn't really want to come you could have asked Kurama to keep an eye on them for you." she uggested. "Then you wouldn't have had to come and she'd still have someone to keep an eye on her."

"I prefer keeping an eye on my sister myself, onna," he informed her. "I'm her brother not Kurama. She's my responcibility."

"Oh." Well he knew how to be a good brother. That thought made her smile. Hiei was kinda nice when he opened up to people, she decided. She just wondered why he was doing this now. He'd never opened up to her before. He usually kept everything inside. She looked out at the storm. "So, do you think this will let up by tomarrow?" she asked.

He shrugged. She saw he too was eyeing the snow and didn't look happy. _He must really hate snow, _she decided. _Or he's stressed. _Yeah it was probably stress, she figured. He had had a lot of stress the past few days, everyone knew that. _It's not healthy to be so stressed, _she thought. _Maybe I can help him relax a little. _

She moved behind him and cautiously put her hands on his shoulders. She felt him stiffen at her touch. She froze. She half expected him to tell her not to touch him. She waited for him to turn around and say something to her. _"Touch me and I break your wrist!" _she remembered him saying a long time ago. She waited for him to say something along those lines.

To her great surprise he said and did noticing. She felt him loosen up and saw him put his hand on her's. She relaxed. He didn't mind her touching him. She sighed in relef. That was good. But how would he react if she tried something else? To test it out she began to slowly massage his shoulders. She heard him sigh but the threat she was expecting to come didn't. He remained silent.

_This isn't like him, _she thought, feeling confused. _Usually he won't let me touch him. Usually he threatens me to make me stop. Why won't he say anything? What's he planning? Please say something!_

She felt him let her hand go. "Hiei?" she said, cautiously.

"I hate snow," she heard him mutter.

"What?"

When he spoke again in a louder voice there was something praculiar about it. "They say certain situations make people act irrationally, make them do and say things they wouldn't naturally bother to attempt." he turned his whole body around to face her. "Make them seem... compliant. Submissive."

She stared at him. "Um.. what do you mean?" she asked, nervously.

He leaned toward her. His face was only inches from her own. She leaned back slightly, not liking his closeness. "Like for instance when ones body goes through some changes," he replied.

Botan's eyes went wide. _What?! What's he saying? Whose body? **His** body? Why's he telling me this? What's going on? _She stared at his face then glanced over his shoulder at the blizzard. _Is snow making him act weird?_

She didn't have time to consider it. The next instant he fell on top of her.

_A/N_

_Actually no Botan you're wrong about that. Snow's not making him act weird. He already hinted why he's acting so strange. Well once again there was some OOCness I think. I am so sorry. Please don't stop reading! I am trying my best! No, he's not gong to rape her or anything like that! Ewww!_

_Umm yeah. Please stay with me. I promise the story will get better. DON'T GO AWAY! Well whether you leave or not I'm going to keep updating anyway. Hope some of you stay faithful. Umm thanks for the reviews I've recieved so far. They keep me going and keep my depression down. _


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

"Hiei?" Botan gasp when she felt the fire demon kiss her neck. "What are you-?!"

His eyes came open when he realized what he was doing and he sat up, blushing furiously. Botan stared at him. She'd never seen him act like this. Was something wrong?

"Are you okay?" she asked cautiosuly.

He folded his arms and looked away from her. _God! What did I almost do? _he asked himself, angrily. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She was waiting for an answer. He knew he couldn't just avoid the question. If he did she'd just keep ragging on him until he did. He couldn't lie either. She'd be able to tell and give him that Look. He had to be honest.

He faced her and took a deep breath then sighed it out and said. "My body has been going through some changes lately."

"Changes?" she asked, blinking once. "What kind of changes?"

"Changes I could go without," he replied, clenching his fists. "I hate how it's making me act!" He grabbed his chest in an area where his heart was. "And it makes my heart ache at the sight of you."

"Thanks a lot," she said irritated at that answer. Inside she was asking herself. _The sight of me? What does he mean? _she decided to find out even if she regretted the answer. "What do you mean?" she questioned.

But he wasn't about to tell her. He sat before her, panting, his eyes full or pain as his hand clutched his chest. _Heartache! Longing... love? No. I can't love her. She's a baka onna. _

Botan was thinking about some things as he was going through his trama. She knew this was about to happen eventually. After all, he _was _seventeen. He couldn't go his whole life without his hormones or whatever acting up. But why did it have to happen to him now? Why not some other time? And why did her presense make his heart ache like that? She didn't know and probably would never find out. The best thing she could do was try to comfort him. She reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder. He looked up into her eyes and calmed down slightly.

"It'll be okay," she told him. "When this whole thing is over you'll return to normal. It happens to everyone. You don't have to worry about it."

Silcence.He stared at her and she stared at him. Finally he nodded. "You're right," he agreed, reaching over and touching her cheek with his index finger. "Of course you're right." _I hope she's right. _

She smiled. "Of course I am."

He took her hand in his and looked away from her. "Then do something for me," he said in a voice that was a command and not a request.

"What?" she asked, staring down at the hand he was holding.

What he said next shocked her and made her blush slightly. "Help me get through this," then she felt his lips brush hers ever so slightly.

* * *

"Do you think we should search for them?" Keiko asked Shizuru. 

The older girl thought about it a moment then shook her head. "That wouldn't be a good idea," she said. "Besides; with that eye Hiei has they'll find their way back here by themselves. There's no need to go after them."

Keiko still wasn't too sure but she didn't tell Shizuru that. _What if they're burried under the snow? What if Hiei's eye doesn't work? What if...?_

"I think we should get some sleep," Shizuru suggested when she noticed the look her her friend's face. "There's no point in staying up and worrying."

Keiko nodded her agreement, glad for something to get her mind off the problem. "Good idea." too bad she wouldn't sleep very well that night.

* * *

Botan woke to a strange predicament. She discovered Hiei lying on top of her, snoozing away. That wasn't much of a problem but the fact that neither were wearing anything and were using Hiei's cloak for a blanket was. 

_Oh my god! _she thought in panic. _What did we? What happened? What's going on?_

She racked her brain for an answer but none came. She couldn't remember. All she could remember was that slight kiss from a strange hormony Hiei then everything went black as she was enveloped by heat. Had he taken advantage of her? Had he _raped _her?

No that couldn't have happened. He wasn't that type of person but still... he had said he was going through some changes.

_Oh my god!_

* * *

Botan hadn't realized she'd fallen back to sleep until she woke again a few hours later. This time she was the only one lying under Hiei's cloak. After a quick scan of her surroundings she discovered the fire demon was gone. 

"Hiei!" she called sitting up, feeling panicky as she thought he'd gone back to the lodge himself.

Then she saw him come back into the cave, looking like he'd been swimming in the snow or something. She noticed he wasn't wearing his shirt and watched him walked over to where he'd discarded it the night before and put it back on (he is wearing his black pants). As he did so he looked over at Botan. "You'd better get dressed," he said, his voice sounding more normal now. "We have to get going."

Botan wrapped his cape around her body as she looked around the cave for her clothes. She spotted them in the area where she'd been sitting the night before. Gripping the cloak in her slim fingers, so not the let it fall down, she got up and retrrived her clothes.

As she got dressed she looked at Hiei and asked. "What happened?"

He looked at her his face a little confused. "When?" he asked, as if he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Last night," she said, slipping on her pants. "How did we... you know..?"

He didn't know. "Hn," he said, looking away from her. "I don't remember."

_Oh just great! _she thought. _Neither of us remember the details. Did we both just black out or something?_

"So what now?" she asked, pulling on her sweater.

"We don't speak of it to anyone," he replied, giving her a threatening look.

Like she'd even been planning on blabbing but she wanted to know why it was a big deal if she did. "Why not?" she asked.

"Because it's none of thier business and it never should have happened!" he snapped.

"Oh. Sorry."

When he was sure she was dressed he walked up to her and snatched his cloak out of her hands. "Let's go," he said, throwing it on as he headed out of the cave.

Botan pulled on her boots, snatched up her skis, put out the fire, then followed Hiei out of the cave, moving quickly so not to be left behind. The demon was waiting for her just outside the entrance. When he spotted her he turned away and started walking. She followed, taking noticed that the storm was over and it was only flurring now.

But that's all she noticed. Her thoughts kept going back to the night she couldn't remember. _What happened and why can't I remember? _she wondered. She looked at Hiei and remembered his Jagan Eye and what it could do. _Did he use that thing to erase my memory?_

"Hey!" she called to him.

Hiei stopped and turned his body sideways. "What?" he asked, sounding annoyed.

"Did you use your evil eye to make me forget you raping me?" she demanded.

"I _didn't_ rape you!" he snapped, facing her now.

"Then what did you do to me?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Hn," he turned away from her, as he felt himself blushing. "I didn't rape you that's all I can say."

"I find that hard to beleive," she shot back.

"I don't care what you believe!"

Botan sighed when she realized she wasn't getting anywhere. It wasn't worth this hassle if she got no answers. "Whatever," she said. "Sorry."

He didn't say anything.

They started walking again. This time neither spoke to each other. _I guess I'll never find out what happened, _she thought, looking toward the snow covered mountains. The sight of them made her realize something though. _I hate winter!_

_A/N_

_Gah! Okay it's not one of my better chapters but it was okay. I'm trying ym best. Please stay with me. And please don't ask. What did they do? You probably already know. Please don't say. That's sick. At least I didn't go into detail. It was implied that's it. Oh man. Please don't hate me. Don't go away!_

_By the way. Hiei doesn't remember either. He just knows whatever it was never should have happened _


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A half hour later the two stepped out of the woods and onto the lodge parking lot. "Hn," Hiei said, putting his hands in his pockets as he looked around himself then up at the building. "Looks like it wasn't as far away as I thought."

Botan looked at him sharply. "So you lied?" she demanded, folding her arms and glaring at him, her eyes accusing. "I bet you did. I bet you just said we were very far away so we could end up in that cave and be stuck in a compromising situation."

Hiei glared back. He couldn't believe the things she was accusing him of. Did she really think he would stoop that low? He had half a mind to kill her then but something held him back. Instead he defended himself. "I did not!" he growled. "Stupid onna. How was I suppost to know that would happen?"

"I don't know," she said huffily. "But you have ways..."

He glared at her a little longer then looked away. _Who does she think I am? That fool Yusuke?! _"Well we're here," he said, walking away from her, not wanting to be accusded of anything else. "And since we are I'm not going to waste anymore of my time arguing with you!"

Botan followed a few steps behind him, her face turned down in a deep scowl. _Jerk, _she thought. _I bet he had planned this. I wouldn't put it past him. _she thought about that a moment as she watched his black covered back and realized... it didn't fit him at all. _Then again, he has some respect for girls. He's no pervert like Yusuke. Maybe he isn't lying after alll..._

By then the two reached the lobby entrance. As Hiei opened the door and he and Botan stepped in at the same time and onna heard a gasp and looked up. She saw Keiko running toward them, her face full of shock and relief.

"Botan! Hiei!" she exclaiumed, hugging Botan but not Hiei since she knew he didn't like to be touched. "I'm glad you're both okay! We were so worried!"

"You didn't have to be," Botan told her. "We're okay. We're fine."

Keiko nodded as she let her friend go and then looked at Hiei who by then was a few feet away, looking over his shoulder, watching. "I'm glad you're okay," she said to him.

"Hn," he turned from her and walked away. "Why wouldn't I be? I'm not a stupid onna that skis in the middle of a blizzard. If I hadn't of followed her she'd be buried under an avalanche by now..."

Keiko seemed startled at his answer. "Well I'm glad you helped Botan," she said slightly taken aback and at a loss for the right words.

He didn't stop or look back at them again. He just stepped into the elevator and let the doors close behind him.

"What's with him?" Keiko asked, turning to Botan. "Did something happen between you two or something?"

"Oh no!" Botan exclaimed, her face turning red. "It's nothing like that!"

Keiko rasied an eyebrow. "Oh really?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips. _I find that hard to believe. Something's up isn't it?  
_Botan couldn't hear Keiko's thoughts. She just answered her friend's question. "Really," she insisted. She quickly pushed past her friend. "I uh have to get a shower and change. See ya later, Keiko!"

Keiko watched her friend dash into the elevator, almost knocking the couple over who was stepping out. The brown haired girl folded her arms thoughtfully as the doors closed behind her friend. _Something's up all right. I was only joking! Could something have happened between them after all? Hmm... I wonder..._

* * *

Botan leaned against the wall in the elevator, panting with her hand over her heart. _Oh my god! _she thought. _Keiko almost guessed what happened! Oh, I'm going to get Hiei for this!_

The door opened and she dashed out of the elevator and down the hall to her room. She hoped no one was in there so she could just get her shower and be done with it without questions. She didn't think she'd be able to keep her mouth shut about the detail if someone was in there and asked questions. _Oh God, please let the room be empty, _she prayed.

Too bad for her that prayer wasn't about to be answered. The second she stepped into the room she spotted Shizuru and Yukina sitting on the couch looking worried. When they heard her come in they looked up and relief crossed their faces.

"Botan!" Yukina exclaimed, when she saw her friend. She and Shizuru got up and walked toward her. "We're so glad you made it back! How's Mr. Hiei?"

"Well Ummm... he's fine..." Botan said backing away from them. She looked around for a way of escape. She spotted the bathroom door hanging wide open. "I'm glad to be back too but.. um.." she edged toward that open door. "I need to take a shower now. I'll tell you what happened later. Okay?"

"Botan," Shizuzru began, noticng how strange the blue haired girl was acting.

The blue haired girl broke into a run. "I'm real dirty!" she called, trying to laugh. "You wouldn't want to get too close. You really don't want to smell me!" she reached the bathroom door and clambered inside then she closed and locked the door behind her. Now her friends wouldn't be able to get in.

The onna sighed in relief and turned on the shower. She got undressed and climbed in. As she let the water spray her body she realized she hadn't really been joking. She might not have really been dirty but she _felt_ like it.

* * *

Outside the bathroom Yukina cast Shizuru a worried look. "Botan was acting funny," she said. "Do you think something happened to her yesterday when she went to the mountain?"

_Hiei happened... _the brown haired girl didn't say. She knew he'd gone after the onna. She didn't feel like telling his sister that. She just shrugged. "I don't know, kid," she said as she took a drag of her cigarette. "But whatever it is, we'll find out. Don't worry about it."

* * *

Hiei entered the room he was sharing with the other boys and was immediately confronted by them. If almost seemed as if they had been _waiting_ for him to get back so they could pounce on him.

"So you've finally returned," Yusuke said, walking toward the demon. His face showed relief and curiousity. "That's good. How's Botan?"

"Like always," Hiei replied, not really wanting to be part of this conversation. "Happy..." _Well not as happy as she should be. _

"Oh really?" the ex spirit detective said, giving Hiei a searching look. "What reason would she have to be happy now?" he drapped an arm over the smaller youth's shoulder. "Did you and Botan... do anything by any chance?"

Hiei glared up at the idiot in annoyance. Leave it to Yusuke to assume that. "Hn," he said, shoving Yusuke's arm off his shoulders. "Like I'd tell you!"

"So you _did_ do something!" Yusuke said triumphantly.

Hiei's face reddened slightly. "I never said that!" he growled.

"The why's your face all red?" the raven haired boy prompted.

"None of your business!" the demon pushed past Yusuke. "Why don't you think about something else for once? Like your own life! That pathetic thing has been in need of attention for quite awhile!"

Kuwabara cracked up. "I guess he told you, Yurameshi!"  
Hiei glared at the carrot top. "What are you laughing about?" he demanded. "_Your_ life is no better!"

Kuwabara stopped laughing and glared at the short demon. "What do you know, you little shrimp?" he snapped.

Hiei smirked. "Hn. More than you'll ever know." then he turned away from them and went into his room, slamming his door behind him.

"Well," Kurama said after a moment. "Looks like he told you two off."

"Shut up, fox," Kuwabara shouted at him. "That smart aleck little punk-"

"Forget it Kuwabara," Yusuke said. "Hiei's lible to win if you pick a fight with him."

"I wasn't going to pick a fight with him," the carrot top protested, feeling offended. "I was going to-"

"Forget it," Yusuke said again. "I have a feeling our little friend has something on his mind right now. Something female."

"Female?" Kuwabara asked, confused. "You mean he's-"

"No!" Yusuke said knowing exactly what he was implying. "Not that. I mean he's thinking about a girl."

"A girl?" the carrot top asked, looking over at the closed bedroom door. "Hiei?"

Kurama and Yusuke shrugged. "Stranger things have happened," they said as one.

* * *

Hiei heard the boys whole conversation through the door and didn't like it one bit. Those idiots could think what they wanted but he knew they were wrong.

_That fool Yusuke has no respect for women, _he thought as he took off his cloak. _He's got no respect for me either. Thinking such things. Who does he think I am? _Then he had to stop himself and give it some thought. he knew what Yusuke had been insinuating and he knew he was right for once. The fire demon didn't know why that thing had happened but it had and there was no going back. He and the baka onna had done the one thing he never thought about doing with anyone and they didn't even remember it. _How did it happen anyway? _he wondered as he sat down on his bed. _I just hope the onna doesn't open her big moth and tell someone about it!_

_A/N_

_Well I changed a few things than I had originally written because they were confusing. I hope this makes sense to you. Don't worry they'll remember what happened later. I wrote the rest of this story on paper so I know what's happening next. I wonder.. How many of you do that with your stories. (Write them down on paper first I mean)_


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Sometime later Botan finally got out of the shower. She quickly dressed and blow dried her hair, brushing out any tangles with the brush she'd left in there the night morning before. When she was done she stepped out of the bathroom and was immediately confront by Keiko, Shizuru, and Yukina, who had been waiting for her to come out.

"All right, spill it," Shizuru ordered.

"Spill what?" Botan asked, leaning against the closed bathroom door.

"You know what I mean," the older girl said folding her arms. "Keiko told us all about how weird you and Hiei were acting when you got back . Now spill. What did you and Hiei do?"

Botan got the feeling she'd been backed into a corner and now there was no way out. She was never very good in this kind of situation. She knew she would say the wrong thing even if she tried not to. "Uh..." she stammered trying to think of something. "We didn't do anything," she finally got out as she felt her cheeks turning red. _Stupid telltale face! _"Hiei saved me from an avalanche. Then we sorta got lost in the storm and had to spend the night in a cave."

"A cave?" Keiko said. "Did you and Hiei do anything while you were in that cave by any chance?"

"Uh... ummm..." Botan looked down at her feet. "I don't remember..."

"You don't remember or you don't want to tell us?" Shiruru pressed.

"I don't remember," the blue haired girl said again. "All I remember is waking up and realizing it was late."

"Oh really?" Shizuru raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember falling asleep but you remember waking up the next morning?"

"Well today is the _same_ day, you know," Botan pointed out. "and Hiei said that we'd better get going so I got dressed and-"

"Hold it!" Keiko interrupted as Yukin'as eyes grew wide. "You got _dressed_?"  
"Well I'd taken off my jacket," Botan said groping for an explaination. "I was feeling hot."

"I bet you were," Keiko said slyly.

"Well... we did have a fire going," Botan tried to explained as she realized anything she said now would just make things worse. "What are you guys trying to make me say? That I made love to him or something?"

"You tell us," Shizuru challenged.

"Well I didn't!" Botan said. She was lying (or she thought she was. She wasn't sure) but they didn't need to know that.

"Are you sure?" Keiko wanted to know, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure as I'll ever be," Botan replied, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Hey, it's lunchtime. Let's head downstaris and get something. I'm starved."

Before the others could reply or stop her, Botan dashed to the dor and rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind her as she went.

The others girls stared after her then Keiko asked, looking right at Shizuru. "What do you think?"

Shizuru lit a cigarette before she said. "That girl is defiantely hiding something."

* * *

Hiei was able to leave the boys room without the others spotting him and asking more questions. It wasn't that he was _afraid _of letting anything slip he just didn't want to be nagged about it. It was none of their business anyway. Besides; he had a certain onna he needed to talk to. Luckily for him she just so happened to be running down the hall toward him. He waited and when she was close enough he reached out his hand and grabbed her wrist, bringing her to a stop.

"Ouch!" she squeaked, feeling the pull on her arm. "Don't do that! It hurts!"

"How else was I going to stop you?" he asked, letting her go.

"You could have just said 'I need to talk to you'," she said, rubbing her sore limb. "You didn't need to try to pull my arm out of its socket."

"Whatever," he said.

"So what do you want?" she demanded, now in a foul mood.

"I'm making sure you're not telling anyone what happened," he replied.

"Like I'd brag about it," she retorted, putting her hands on her hips. "But incase you're wondering; No I didn't, even though Keiko and Shizuru already suspect something."

"What did you say to them?" he demanded.

"Nothing!" she answered. _Holy crap, Hiei! Don't you think I can keep a secret? _"I didn't say anything. All I said was that we spent the night in a cave-"

"You what?" he growled.

"What?" she asked. "What's wrong with saying that?"

"Nevermind," he said, folding his arms. "You're too stupid to figure that out for yourself. I'm not even going to bother explaining."

Botan gave him a look of annoyance. He knew stuff she didn't and now he wasn't going to tell her what they were. "Fine," she said, folding her arms. "At least tell me how it could have happened."

He shook his head, his face saying 'you're really stupid. I think I explained this already'. "As you already know, my body has ben going through some changes," he explained, as slowly as possible so she would understand it. "Recently I've been starting to notice females... more than usualy. Especially certain parts."

Botan jumped right on that one. "So you're turning into a _pervert_?" she screeched.

"No!" he snapped, giving her a look so sharp that could cut diamonds. _I didn't say that you stupid ferry girl! Let me finish before you make assumptions like that! _ "I'm not that fool Yusuke. I'm just saying I'm starting to feel... lonely. I feel like I need someone to be with me. Someone to be..." his voice trailed off as he looked away from her, not liking what he had to say. "Well you might call them a lover or something."

"A lover? You?" she asked, surprised by such a forward answer. "Is that why you've been acting so weird lately? Why you've been avoiding everyone?"

He still wouldn't look at her but he nodded once. "I was trying to resist certain urges by avoiding women."

_Was? _"So is that why you didn't want to come into Burger King?" she questioned.

Once again he nodded.

"Does Kurama know?"

"No, but he suspects it."

"What about me?"

"What about you?"

"Last night when we were in that cave you asked me to help you through this," she expalined, remembering _something_ from the night before. "Did that mean you wanted me to... date you or something?"

"Something like that," he said still being forward.

"Okay..."

"If you want to know the rest of my problem I'll tell you in as few words as possible but get to the point so you won't ask again," he said, looking back at her. _You'd better pay attention, Botan because it concerns you! _"The changes in my body have also made me feel an attaction toward you."

She stared at him. "Me?" she asked, too surprised to say more.

He nodded. "That little incident last night didn't help," he went on. "It made things get out of control and we made a mistake."

"So you know what happened?" she asked, hopefully.

He shook his head. "No, I do not. After I gave you that kiss everything went black." he looked angry. "It was a mstake."

She wanted to ask him some more questions but he seemed distant now, as if he was reliving something unpleasent. Before anything else could be said by either, he turned and walked down the hall to the elevator. She watched him go, sorting out the things he said. So his mind was maturing. Only differently than most peoples.

_And he feels attraction toward me, _she thought. _No wonder he was acting so strange. My pressence was making his hormones go out of wack. At least I think its hormones. I'm not very good with how guys mature. _She felt her cheeks turning red. _This isn't good. _she also headed toward the elevator. _I think I'll do some ice skating later to clear my head. _

Unknown to either her or Hiei, Kurama had been listening in one the whole conversation, just out of sight around the corner. _It all makes sense now, _he thought, coming out of his hiding spot.

_A/N_

_Yeah, I updated rather quickly this time. I didn't really have anything else to do so here's the next chapter and there's the whole stupid explaination for why Hiei was acting weird. Botan was never very good at keeping a secret. Now you know the whole story. But there's more fun to come. Just be patient. Thank you very much and thanks for all the reviews. You're all great. _


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Sometime later Hiei was sitting in the hotel lounge, glaring at anyone who bothered to look at him, when he felt a presense behind him, a familiar presense that only belonged to only one person.

"What do you want Kurama?" he demanded, not bothering to turn around to look his friend in the eye.

Kurama stared at the back of his friend's head a minute in surprise then walked around the sofa and sat down beside the fire demon. "I want to talk to you," he said.

Hiei looked at him. "About what?" he asked.

"About how you've been acting lately," the fox replied, leaning forward. "Is there something wrong? Is there something you want to tell me?"

The fire demon glared at him. "Why are you suddenly so interested, fox?" he demanded. _Are you going to lecture me about my attitude again? Just give up. You won't change me. _

"Because I'm your friend and I'm worried," Kurama replied, as if that was reason enough.

Hiei knew better. "You're lying," he said flat out.

Kurama looked away. Guilty as charged.

"Now why are you asking me?" the fire demon demanded, giving his friend a suspicious look. "You didn't hear anything you shouldn't have by any chance."

Kurama wouldn't look at him but he did admit. "I heard you talking to Botan."

"So you were poking your nose where it didn't belong?" Hiei snapped. _Dumd nosy fox! Mind your own business!_

Kurama looked bact at his friend and saw something in Hiei's eyes. A warning. The fox had better be careful. "Y-yes I was," he admited. "I didn't mean to," he added quickly when he saw the look get worse. "I just couln't help overhearing."

Hiei looked like he wanted to cut Kurama up right there. Run his sword right through the foxes beautiful red head. Instead he thought better of it. "So you know then," he said looking away. _Damn fox! You always hear the wrong things at the wrong times. It that your gift or something? Meddling?_

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kurama wanted to know.

_Why should you care? _Hiei looked at him sharply. "You're not my mother fox," he snapped.

"I know but I am your best friend."

"That still doesn't mean I have to tell you everything," the fire demon shot back. _Stupid fox! Stupid stupid fox!_

Kurama nodded. "You're right," he said."I'm sorry."

"You better be!"

About that time Botan walked through the lobby. She was wearing a light blue coat and white pants, slung over her shoulder was a white pair of ice skates. She didn't notice them as she headed toward the exit. Kurama noticed Hiei watched her the whole time. When she was gone Hiei looked back at his friend and saw an amused look on his face.

"What?" the fire demon demanded.

"Oh nothing," Kurama said, looking innocent. "But I was wondering why you were watching Botan."

"Because I can!" Hiei replied, standing up. "Why don't you mind your own business?" he hurriedly walked away, muttering something about 'stupid foxes' under his breath.

Kurama watched his friend go, noticing the fire demon head in the same direction Botan had gone. He shook his head. _Now what do we have here...?_

* * *

Botan sat down on a fallen log by the skating pond and to put on her skates. As she did, she looked over the frozen water, admiring the way the ice sparkled in the afternoon sunlight. She couldn't wait to get out on the smooth surface and push all her troubles out of her mind. When she finished lacing up her skates she stood up and stepped out onto the ice.

Unknown to her, Hiei was watching from a small hill overlooking the pond. He'd only really gone outside for some fresh air but when he spotted the blue haired ferry girl glide onto the ice he couldn't help but watch her. He soon found out she was pretty good, she even knew some of the jumps and spins. But just as his interest was peeked, Botan disappeared behind some trees and he had to move to get a better angle. He really wanted to watch her skate. Too bad he wasn't watching where he was going. His foot stepped down into the snow and the earth underneath gave out under his weight. He flailed his arms for balance but it was no use. He pitched forward and lost his footing. He fell forward and slid down the snowly bank on his stomach, right onto the ice. Just as Botan was coming by!

"Whoa! Look out!" she screamed as she flew toward him.

A split second before she would have crashed into him she threw herself into the air and sailed over his head. The jump would have been impressive if she hadn't of landed on her rump when she came down.

"Nice landing, graceful," he said to her from his spot on the ice.

Botan glared at him as she stood up, red faced. "What's your problem?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"What?" he asked from his spot on the ice.

"Do you have a death wish or something?" she wanted to know. "I could have seriously injured you!"

He shrugged carelessly as he got up. "It was an accident," was all he said.

"Accident?" she said, raising a blue eyebrow. "What kind of accident?"

He nodded to answer her first question. "I tripped," he said simply.

"Tripped from where?"

He didn't show her by pointing toward the location. All he did was move his eyes upward toward the slope where he'd fallen from. Her own eyes followed his gze then she asked. "What were you doing up there?"

He refused to answer.

That made her assume things. "Were you spying on me?" she questioned.

"No."

"Then what were you doing up there?"

"Getting some air."

She gave him a Who-do-you-think-you're-kidding? look. "Somehow I don't believe that," she said, folding her arms.

"Hn," he snorted, turning away from her. "I don't care what you believe," he retorted, annoyed. "It's the truth."

Before she could snap at him he walked back up the hill, muttering to himself and completely ignoring her. She watched him go, getting the sneekingest suspiction that he was lying. When she couldn't see him anymore she just shrugged it off and resumed her skating.

* * *

Hiei stomped away from the skating pond, muttering to himself. "Stupid onna. Why does she always have to ask such dumb questions? It wasn't like I was spying! I was just watching!" he looked into the sky and sighed. _Who am I kidding? I was spying! And I thought those feelings were more in check now. Guess I was wrong. I'm going to have to avoid her from now on. _

With that descition made, the fire demon headed back into the ski lodge. If only he knew what someone else had planned for them...

* * *

Unknown to Hiei and Botan, Kurama and Shizuru had decided to discuss what was going on between their two friends. Since the fox and the brown haired smoker had the same suspicions, and since they were going out, which was really no real reason to tell anyone anything, they figured Hiei and Botan's problems was their problems too.

"So something did happen between them in that cave," Shizuru said, after Kurama told her what he had over heard. "I was right after all."

"But what are we going to do about it?" Kurama wanted to know.

"Maybe we could try to hook them up," she suggested.

Kurama stared at her. "How?"

The brunnette took a drag of her cigarette and smiled. "Like this," and she began to explain.

_A/N_

_I don't have much to say about this. Someone here, (Who shall not be named) who likes to give me constructive critisism will probably ask me questions about it and I'll have to explain it to her(him). I just hope she doesn't. All well. That's it for now. _


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

Sometime later, as it started to get dark, Botan skated off the ice and put her boots back on. She headed back to the hotel, her mind almost completely clear of her problem with Hiei and the secret they shared. Skating had lifted her spirits and now she felt like curling up in her room with a good romance noval. It was a good idea but Shizuru had other plans for the bluette and when she entered the lobby, the smoker immediately pulled her aside.

"Botan, I need to talk to you," she said, leading the girl toward the lounge.

"About what?" Botan asked, wondering what her friend wanted to talk about.

"About you and Hiei."

The onna's heart began to pound. "Me and Hiei?" she stammered. _Oh my God! She knows! Shr knows what happened! _So much for her plans. She started thinking up excuses to explain what had happened. "Why do you want to talk about me and him and how did you find out anyway?"

Shizuru folded her arms and gave Botan a Look. "Kurama told me," she replied instantly. "He said he overheard you and Hiei talking about something."

"Um... so?" _Kurama! How in the world? _

"He heard you guys talking about something that happened in a cave," the older girl went on, raising an inquiring eyebrow. "Something you both don't seem to remember but are upset about it none the less."

"So?"

"Botan," Shizrur went on, putting her hands on her hips and sighing with exasperaction. "Did you and Hiei...?"

The ferry girl's cheeks turned red. "I don't know," she said, looking away. "One minute we were talking about a problem he was having and the next thing I know... we both aren't wearing anything the next morning when we get up."

Shizuru cocked her head. "Do you think it might have something to do with those changes he mentioned?" she wanted to know.

"Hey, how do you know-" she began to ask, then remembered Kurama had overheard the whole conversation and had told her. "I don't think so," she said instead. "But I doubt he would intentionally take advantage of me like that. He's not that kind of person."

Shizuru nodded as if she understood. "I see," she said.

"So what else did Kurama tell you and how did he overhear the conversation anyway?" Botan demanded, feeling a bit irritated about that.

"Well he was in the hall upstairs just around the corner from where you two were talking," Shizuru explained. "He heard Hiei mention changes in his body and decided to find out what was up and boy did he ever!" the smoker gave Botan another Look. "Conclusion made: Hiei is (or was) in heat and you're the mate his body seems to have chosen."

Botan looked away again. "He did say something like that," she admitted. "He said he felt an attraction toward me and our little misadventure in the cave last night didn't help." the ferry girl looked back at her friend. "What am I going to do? What is _Hiei_ going to do?"

Shizuru shrugged. She had absolutely no way of answering that. "You two could always start dating?" she suggested.

Botan's face turned red again. "Dating?!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands to her cheeks. "He'd never do that! Not with me anyway!"

Shizuru smiled at Botan's distressed state, as something came to mind. "He might not have a choice," she said.

Botan stared at her suspiciously. "What do you mean?" she prompted.

"Oh you'll find out," Shizuru chuckled as something funny crossed her mind. _Let's just hope Kurama can convince him..._

* * *

Hiei was all _but_ convinced. A few minutes after he'd come back into the lodge from his little arguement with Botan, Kurama had cornered his friend and told him what was up. That he'd told Shizuru the whole story, that she'd suggested hooking them up, and that he'd agreed to help with that. 

"Forget it!" Hiei snapped at him, not liking the ideas at all. "I'm not dating that onna!"

"But don't you realize if you don't do something things will just get worse?" Kurama asked.(_What could be worse than what happened already? _Hiei asked himself) "Next time you might force youself on her and next time she won't be as compliant."

"I would never force myself on anyone!" the fire demon protested, angry at the very thought. _What do you think I am?!_

"You might not have a choice," the fox told him. "You're in heat, Hiei. Don't you realize that?"

"No."

"Well that's why you've felt attracted to Botan," he said. "If you keep on avoiding her what makes you think your instincts won't take over and you'll do it again? What makes you think you won't keep doing it until you get her pregnant?"

"I _won't_ get her pregant!" Hiei shouted, clenching his fists in anger. The very idea disgusted him. "What makes you think we did anything in the first place?"

"You said you weren't wearing anything."

"That means nothing."

Kurama gave him a who-do-you-think-you're-kidding? Look. "It does too and you know it!"

The fire demon looked away.

"Look Hiei, at least give it a chance," the red haired demon pressed. "One date. Take her to the lodge party friday. Join the pair skating contest._ Eat lunch with her _at least."

Hiei leaned against the wall and scowled but finally gave in. "Fine!" he snapped. "One date. I'll take her to that dumb party but that's it."

Kurama smiled and nodded. 'That's all I wanted to hear."

* * *

"What the hell?" Hiei gottend away from Kurama a few minutes ago and was walking toward the elevator when he happened to notice the skating compatition sign up sheet. He stared at it a moment, blinked a few times, rubbed his eyes, and even used his Jagan to make sure he wasn't seeing things. 

The words were still there.

"Oh no, not this time!" the fire demon growled, recognizing the handwriting. "He gone too far!"

Kurama had written Hiei and Botan's names on the pair skating competition's sign up sheet. "He's not going to get away with this!" he shouted, reaching up and grabbing the sheet off the wall. "There's no way in Hell I'm going to face that kind of humiltation!"

Just as he started to tear it up a voice behind him said. "Hiei?"

He froze in mid-rip. Slowly he turned around, the paper still in his hands. Botan stood behind him, with her hands on her hips and a weird look on her face.

"Umm hello, Botan," he said.

She didn't notice he'd used her name. She was too busy staring at the paper he was holding. "What's that?" she asked.

The fire demon's face turned red when he realized he hadn't hidden the paper. _Oops. _"Uh..." he stammered, trying to think of a good answer. "My Christmas list?"

The onna raised an eyebrow. "Your Christmas list?" she took a step toward him. "You hate Christmas. What is it for real, Hiei?"

He looked at her nervously for a second then handed it over. The ferry girl took the paper, looked over the names carefully, to see what had upset him, then finally said. "I didn't sign up for this."

"Well neither did I!" he nformed her, feeling defensive.

"If you did I'd wonder if your hormones were making you wacky," she said, looking up from the list.

"Hormones have nothing to do with this," he said, pointing at the list. "This is that foxes' doing!"

She lifted the sheet to the light for a better view. "Kurama did this?" she asked, squinting one eye shut and moving the paper around.

"Yes."

"Hmmm," she looked over the sheet again. "But why? Can you skate/"

"Skating is besides the point!" the fire demon informed her. "He's just using this as a way to get us together."

"Really?" Botan didn't look very susprised. "So... uh... can you skate?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" he demanded.

"If you can't skate I'l offer to teach you how," she replied. "Seeing as we only have two days to get a routine ready."

Hiei stared at her. Didn't she care that Kurama had done this? "What the hell?! I'm not going to enter this stupid contest!" he roared.

"Too late. We already are," she said smiling and knowing full well he had no choice. She patted his shoulder humoringly. "So... can you skate?"

He glared at her, hating to admit it. "No."

"Want me to teach you?"

"Hn.." he looked away from her, going over any kind of answer he could have given her then. He thought better at blowing up at her and just said. "Fine."

_A/N_

_And there you have it. If Kurama and Shizuru are acting OOC, well sorry. I can't exaclty remember how they act. If my logic is messed up at all please don't correct me. You'll just make me feel stupid. _


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

The next morning Hiei and Botan headed outside to the lodge's skating pond. When they got there Botan sat down to put on her skates and Hiei lased up a pair they had rented from the lodge. When they were done Botan was the first to begin.

"Okay," Botan said, skating onto the ice and turning to the fire demon. "First lesson. Try skating to me."

Hiei stood rooted to his spot on the ice, not wanting to move and feeling foolish. He could barely keep his baalnce, let alone skate to her.

"C'mon," she urged. "It's not that hard. It's just like walking. Only faster."

Hiei glared at her but did what she daid. Right away he went flying. "AHHH!" he screamed, flailing his arms as he flew toward her.

"Whoa! Stop!" Botan ordered, putting out her hands.

Too late for that. The fire demon slammed into her and miraculously she kept her balance. She grabbed Hiei by the arms before he fell over. "Well that was pretty good for a first try," she said, nervously. He looked up at her, his heart pounding a mile a minute. She smiled down at him as if the whole thing didn't really bother her. "Wanna try again?" she asked.

No, he didn't but he wasn't going to tell _her_ that. If he did she'd call him a quiter and he was not a quiter. "I want to try again," he said as she helped him regain his balance. "That try was pathetic. I will not be laughed at."

_Who laughed at you? Either way. It'sa good thing I'm nice and no one is watching us, _Botan thought as Hiei tried again.

* * *

Little did either of them know was Kuwabara and Yusuke were crouched down on the top of the same hill Hiei had been on the day before, watching the two skate. They were getting a real kick out of how badly Hiei was doing. "Did you see the way Hiei skated onto the ice?" Kuwabara asked, snickering. "One minute he's all calm and the next. FOOOM!"

"Yeah," Yusuke replied with a snort of laughter. "Boy does he suck. Why's he skating out there with Botan anyway?"

"I bet it has something to do with whatever happened between them the other day," Kurabara suggested.

"Maybe," was all Yusuke said. He looked thoughtfull.

Yusuke and Kuwabara still didn't know their friends' secret but that was good. If they had known it they wouldn't leave Hiei and Botan alone out it, especially Hiei. Besides; it wasn't like _Kurama_ was going to tell them. The fox wasn't that stupid!

"It still doesn't explain why they're skating though," Yusuke finally said, stifleing a yawn. "or should I say why Botan's skating and Hiei's trying to." he snickered. "Seems like there _is _something Hiei can't do. Not very well anyway..."

* * *

Botan was getting impatient. She was trying to teach Hiei how to skate right but he just seemed to be doing worse. Was it because he hated winter or did it have something to do with her? Was he nervous about being around her now? Either way; this wasn't working and Hiei was getting angry and frustrated. She half expected him to somehow melt the pond so no one else could use it ever again or stomp off the ice, never to return again and burn his skates to ashes. She'd already heard him blame them for how bad he was doing but... so far neither idea was coming to mind.

"Hiei," she said after a few more minutes. let's take a break."

He glanced at her, looking relieved at the suggestion. The two skated off the ice, hand in hand but not by choice, since Hiei still had trouble keeping his balance, then sat down on the ice. "You know, Hiei, you're not very good at this," she said, proceeding with caution. He looked at her like she was stupid. She knew he wanted to say something back but she plowed ahead before he could. "Maybe if you loosened up you'd do better."

"Hn," he looked away from her. "How do you plan on accomplishing that, onna?"

"How about music?" she suggested.

He looked at her, a weird expression on his face. "What?" he demanded.

"Let's try using music," she replied, carefully. "Maybe that'll help you loosen up."

Hiei didn't look convinced.

Botan wanted to try it anyway. "Wait here," Botan ordered, pulling off her skates and dashing back to the lodge in her bare feet.

Hiei watched her go, amused by her stupidity. He figured she didn't realize she didn't have any shoes on. Knowing her, she probably did but didn't care. A short time later she came back out with her ipod and a speeker from the lodge ballroom.

"Okay," she said, setting the items down and putting her skates back on. "maybe this will help you skate better."

He doubted it but didn't voice his thoughts. She'd probably just ignore them anyway.

When she finished with her skates she stood up and scrolled though her playlists. "Okay, here are the songs I have chosen for us to work with. My december, Once Upon A December, and Enternal Snow. How does that sound?"

_It doesn't. _Hiei frowned. He didn't really appreciate the song choices or the fact that they all had some reference to December in them. Being born in December didn't help. He wanted to tell her he didn't like the choices at all but didn't bother to. If he did she'd probably start crying and he hated to see girls cry. Instead of saying anything along those lines he just shrugged. "It's fine, I guess," he muttered.

"Good," she said smiling as she pressed the 'play' button. "Let's get started." she grabbed his arm and pulled him back onto the ice. "Okay. Here's what you can try. Just close your eyes and feel the music. It'll help you relax."

Hiei frowned. _Feel the music? _"This is stupid," he said and turned away from her to skate back to the shore. "Just forget it."

"Hiei, wait," Botan said, grabbing his arms and making him face her. "Just give it a try. Please."

He stared up at her face and into her pleading eyes and broke. He sighed and look away from her. "Hn. Fine."

"Goody," she said, smiling. "Now close your eyes and feel the music."

Relunctantly he did so but felt nothing but foolish. He listened to the song but didn't get anything out of it. The words made no sence to him. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It won't work," he told her.

Botan sighed. "Just try again and this time don't listen to the music listen to the _music."_

He sighed and relunctantly tried again, keeping in mind what she'd said. This time things were different. He felt something strange and he gasped. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it before but then this sorta of thing was new to him. He opened his eyes and looked up at her again, his mouth open but not saying a word.

She smiled. "Want to try this again?" she asked.

He just nodded.

"Okay then," she said taking his hand.

* * *

Yusuke had dozed off when Hiei and Botna left the ice the first time but Kuwabara waited for them to return. He had a feeling they would and wasn't disappointed. "Look they're doing it again!" he exclaimed, shaking Yusuke as he pointed at the ice.

Yusuke woke from his nap and looked down at the pond. He saw that Hiei and Botan were indeed working on their skating again, this time Yusuke noticed Hiei wasn't as clumsy as before. He seemed different somehow.

"I think Hiei got better," Urameshi said, pointing at the fire demon as he glided over the ice, holding Botan's hand. "See? He's not losing his balance as much as before."

Kuwabara snickered. "He looks like a sissy," he commented. "Why's he even bothering to learn to ice skate anyway? What's he going to use it for? I thought that kind of stuff got on his nerves."

"It does," Yusuke told him. "But maybe Botan convinced him to be her parner in the skating competition." the raven haired half demon shuddered. "Like I let Keiko convince me.."

"Keiko got you to enter the competition with her?" Kuwabara asked.

Yusuke nodded.

Kuwabara almost laughed then an idea came to him. "Maybe I can convince Yukina to pair up with me!"

Yusuke stared at him. "Uh...Kuw-" he began.

But Kuwabara was too far off in dreamland to pay any attention to his friend. "We could win the contest then she'll realize how great I am!" the carrot top stood up. "Oh Yukina!" he shouted, runninmg all the way back to the lodge.

Yusuke watch him go then shook his head sadly. That guy was hopeless.

* * *

The music was coming to an end and Hiei finished their practice up by throwing Botan into the air. She's told him it would be okay when he'd hesitated at the suggestion, afraid he might hurt her, and told him she wouldn't get hurt when she landed. He's finally chosen to trust her and just follow orders. Botan spun three times in the air and landed gracefully on her right foot. She skated in a small circle around him then grabbed his hand as they struck the final pose. The music ended and they loosed up, panting at all the wok they'd just done.

Botan was impressed. "Hey, that was great!" she exclaimed, smiling at him with new respect. "I never knew you were so talented! Are you sure you've never skated before?"

"Positive," Hiei said, putting his hands in his pockets. "I don't have time for such a pathetic sport." But even he'd been surprised at how well he'd done.

"Pathetic or not you were great," she told him, putting her hands on his shoulders. "Who knew you could skate so well?"

Hiei felt a blush coming on as her compliment sank in. Yes, he'd _had_ done pretty well. He looked away, being modest and not wanting her to see him blush. "Hn."

Botan frowned and smiled agian as she got an idea. "C'mon!" she exclaimed, grabbing his arm and skating him off the ice. "Let's go inside and get warmed up. How about some hot chocolate?"

Hiewi tried to free himself from her grasp but she wouldn't let go so he gave up. He gave her suggestion some thought. A little hot chocolate wouldn't hurt him. He sighed and allowed her to drag him into the lodge.

_A/N_

_Surprise surrprise! Hehehe. Well you people got both questions right. He didn't know how to skate but when he'd got something to skate too he improves greatly. Heheheh. Please don't ask me how he gets better or why Yusuke and Kuwabara were watching them. Questions like that kill all the fun. Yes I do think Hiei was born in December. It wasn't secified anyway. _


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

About an hour later Hiei went looking for Kurama. He found the fox in the lounge with Shizuru, playing Go Fish a one of the game tables. The fire demon walked over to them. "Kurama," he said, interrupting their game.

Kurama looked up. When he saw his friend he smiled. "Hey, Hiei," he said. "What's up?"

Hiei growled in reply and his friend noticed his fists were clenched and shaking. "What's wrong?" the fox asked.

"I would like to have a word with you," Hiei said, glancing at Shizuru who had turned to look at him too. "Alone."

"Okay," Kurama said. He turned to his girlfriend and said. "I'll be back." he set his cards face down on the table. "No cheating while I'm gone."

"Like I ever," the bruenette said with a smile.

"Sure you do," he said, giving her a peck on the cheek. "Just please don't do it this time. If you peek we'll have to start over."

She nodded. She didn't want to start over. "Okay."

"Uh hem," Hiei cleared his throat impatiently.

"Oh yeah," Kurama said, turning back to his friend. He followed Hiei out of the room. When they were out in the hall Kurama asked. "What's up?"

Hiei glared at his friend. "I don't appreciate what you're doing."

Kurama was confused. "What am I doing?"

The fire demon folded his arms and leaned his back against the wall. "I know it was you who signed me and Botan's names on the skating competition sign up sheet."

Kurama couldn't see the wrong in that. "So?"

"I don't appreciate the fact that you're trying to hook us up!" Hiei shouted, causing someone further down the hall to turn their head and look in their direction.

Kurama noticed this and lowered his own voice, hoping Hiei would get the hint. "Why not?" he asked. "_You're_ the one who slept with her."

Hiei got the hint and lowered his voice as well. "But I promised only one date!" he reminded his friend. "The freakin party tomarrow night and that was it!"

Kurama frowned. "Are you blushing?" he asked.

That remark ruined Hiei's train of thought. "I... uh... what... That's besides the point!" he shouted, his face flaring.

Kurama just smiled and chuckled softly. "Sorry," he said. "I just figured the competition was a good idea."

"You thought wrong," Hiei grumbled, looking away from his friend.

"Hiei.." Kurama began.

"What?" the koorime asked, turning back to his friend, impatiently.

The fox opened his mouth to say something then changed his mind. "Nothing," he said, looking away. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have set you up like that."

"You got that right!" his friend growled.

"It's too late to drop out now," Kurama reminded him. "Now you have to do it and don't think about changing you mind about the friday night party!" he went on before Hiei could say anything. "You promised you'd take her to that and you're going to."

"That was before I found out you set me up!" Hiei growled, through clenched teeth.

"Too bad," Kurama said., folding his arms. 'You still have to do it. A promise is a promise."

Hiei growled in anger and turned away from his friend. "Fine," he said before he stormed away. "But let me warn you now; You'd better sleep with one eye open tonight!"

Kurama smiled nervously as he watched his friend retreeted. By then any threats from Hiei were old hat. He didn't have anything to worry about so he just shrugged it off and headed back into the lounge and to his girlfriend at the card table. The bruenette gave him a searching look when he came in and asked. "What did he want?"

"Oh nothing," Kurama said carelessly. "He's just mad that I signed him and Botan up for the skating competition." he sat down and picked up his cards.

"I told you that wasn't a good iead," Shizuru reminded him, as she watched the fox study his cards. "He must have been pretty mad, huh?"

"About as much as usual," Kurama said, frowning at his cards. "He gave me one of the usual threats." he squinted his eyes at the cards. "hey, did you do something to my cards?"

"Don't try to change the subject," the bruenette scolded him. "So I guess this means he's going to do it anyway?"

"Yeah," he said, setting his cards on ther table. "He doesn't like it but he's going to do it."

Shizuru smiled. "Well that's good. By the way, you lost!"

* * *

Botan knew something was up the second she stepped into the suite she shared with the other girls. The first thing she noticed when she came in wad Keiko and Yukina sitting on the sofa with their heads together, whispering and giggling about something. When they heard her close the door they looked up and stared at her like she'd grown a second head. The onna didn't like being stared at and folded her arms as she gave them annoyed looks. 

"What?" she asked. "Why are you two staring at me like that?"

Keiko and Yukina looked at each other, giggled, then looked back at her, not about to explain themselves. "Nothing," Keiko finally said, looking at Botan's skates. "We just happened to be outside earlier and noticed you giving Hiei skating lessons."

"So?" Botan asked, feeling irritable. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No," Yukina answered. "We were just wondering why you were doing that with Hiei-sama. Did he ask you to?"

"No."

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because we're entering the skating competition tomarrow, that's why," she replied.

Her friends gasped and stared at her in shock. "You are?" Keiko asked, not sure she'd heard Botan right.

"Yeah," the ferry girl confirmed as she headed toward her bedroom.

"Why?"

_Why do they always ask me why? _Botan opened her bedroom door then stopped to glance back at her friends. She opened her mouth to reply but the right words never came so she said nothing. She closed her mouth, turned away from them, and went into her room, closing the door behind her.

She leanded against the door as her heart pounded in her chest. _Oh my God! _she thought. _They saw us practicing! What if they find out what happened? Oh why did this have to happen? Well after this competition things can return to normal and me and Hiei will never have ot speak to each other again! _She stopped at that thought. Never speak to him again? Why would she want that? It hadn't been _his_ fault this had happened. She was just as much to blame as he was.

_I shouldn't be so paranoid about it anyway. The only two people who know are Kurama and Shizuru and I doubt they'd tell. _She sighed and took off her coat. She turned to look in the full length mirror on her door. Suddenly she noticed something at the base of her neck. She leaned closer to the glass to get a better look. When she realized what it was her heart began to pound again. _Ohmygod! ohmygod! ohmygod!_

"HIEI!!!!!!!"

_A/N_

_I'm strange. Yoy can probably guess what that is. If not... you're weird then. As you can see the skating competition hadn't been the real idea at all._


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

Botan stormed out of her room and into the hall, intent on confronting Hiei about the thing on her neck. She wasn't planning on having a nice chat about it either. She was angry. _How dare he! _she thought, stalking down the hall. _He insisted we didn't do anything like tat but now I know we did! How could he? This isn't happening! This isn't **going **to happen! _She reached the boys room and swung the door open so hard it banged against the inner wall. She stepped inside and, clenching her fists at her sides shouted. "HIEI!" at the top of her lungs.

The fire demon came out of his room and glared at her. _Why does she have to scream like that? _"What do you want, onna?" he demanded.

She stormed over to him and pointed at the mark on her neck. "What is this?" she wanted to know.

Hiei stared at the mark a moment. He didn't recognize it. "How should I know?" he asked. "A hiky?"

"No!" she shouted, totally annoyed at his ignorance. Didn't he know what had happened? "It's a bite mark! I just noticed this a few minutes ago. Do you know what this means?"

_That a dog bit you?_ He glared at her. He didn't like this game at all. "No."

"It means we did do something in that cave!" she shouted in his face. "And not just make out either! What do you have to say for yourself?"

He thought about that a moment. He still wasn't sure what she was implying but he had a guess. "You would make a horrible mate."

The ferry girl fell over. "That's not what I ment and you know it!" she shouted.

He turned sideways and folded his arms. He turned his head to look at her and asked. "Then what did you mean?"

"I ment how are you planning on fixing this?" she demanded, pointing an angry finger at the mark on her neck. "And don't you dare say 'let's get married'! This is serious!"

Hiei opened his mouth to reply then noticed Yusuke come into the room and changed his mind. "We'll discuss it later," he told her, turinng totally away from her. "Now isn't a good time."

Botan noticed Yusuke too and chose not to make a come back. Yuske didn't need to hear this conversation. "Fine," she said. "We'll talk about it later." But she really didn't want to. She needed this fixed _now_.

"Good," Hiei went into his bedroom, having the last word in the matter.

When Hiei's door clicked shut Yusuke asked from his spot on the couch. "What was that about?"

She turned to him and laughed nervously. "Oh nothing," she said edging toward the door. "It was a boring conversation anyway. You wouldn't want to know what it was about." then she turned and dashed the rest of the way out of the room.

When Botan was in the hall she got a little bit of distance between her and that room then stopped to lean against the wall to think. If that bite ment what she thought it did, it was living proof that what they'd done in the cave was both their faults and she couldn't just blame Hiei. He wasn't the only one responcible. As she stood there thinking, memories began to surface in her mind like flashes on a TV screen. The answer came to her and now all her suspicions were gradified. They _had_ made love. How it had ended up like that she still wasn't sure but she figured she'd consented to it. He hadn't raped her at all. She'd never really believed he had anyway. She knew one thing. She could have stopped him but she hadn't. She'd wanted it too.

_Oh my god! _she thought, panicking as another memory surfaced. This one involved a questioned he'd asked in the heat of passion. _"Botan, will you be my mate?" "Yes,"_ she had answered without hesitation.

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, now realizing the full truth of everything. "We _are_ engaged!"

"Who's engaged?" Keiko asked, stepping around the corner. (she'd gone looking for Botan.)

Botan froze as her face tuerned red. "Uh... Um...," she satmmered, trying to come up with a good answer. "Nobody. I was just thinking out loud." she turned around to escape and... discovered Hiei standing right behind her. "Oh my god!"

He didn't like being yelled at. He arched an eyebrow and demanded. "What now?"

Botan turned from Hiei to Keiko then back to Hiei as she tried to come up with an answer. Finally she screamed, grabbed Hiei's arm and ran down the hall, dragging him behind her. She pulled him into the first door she could find open, the door to the broom closet, and slammed the door shut behind them.

Hiei finally pulled free from her grip and demanded. "What in hell are you doing?!"

She stood, staring at him with buldgy eyes, as she hyperventilated.

Hiei realized she was going to hurt herself or pass out if she kept that up. _Why is she acting so weird anyway? _"Hey," he said, taking her arm. "Calm down. Take soem deep breaths." She did what she was told and when she caught her breath he asked again. "What was that about?"

"Hiei," she gasped, still panicky. "I figured out something."

"What?"

She took a deep breath then burst out. "We're engaged!"

He gave her a look of disbelief. "What? What the hell are you talking about?"

She had to tell him. "I remember what had happened in that cave." she told him bluntly.

He gave her his full attention now. "You do?" he asked, looking expectant. "What do you remember?"

"I finally remember everything that happened in the cave and I know what we did," she looked at him and had a feeling he might already know this. "We made love."

His eyes grew wide. He believed her but tried to scoff it off anyway. "Ha! Why would I do that?"

She had the answer. "Well you were in heat," she explained. "Either way; we did it and during it you asked me if I would be your mate and I said yes, just like that..."

He was still in denial. "Why would I ask you that?" he wanted to know.

"I don't know," she said, pacing back and forth. "But it's the only thing that explains why I have your teeth marks on my neck..."

Hiei was silent as he started remembering what had happened. The question he'd asked her then also came to mind and he felt himself blushing as he realized what it ment. _Son of a..._

"We're engaged Hiei," she said again, slowly so the words would sink in. "We made a mistake and now we're engaged."

"Mistake?" he asked, looking at her. He didn't look too sure about that now. His memories had a little more detail then her's in words and phrases. Mostly he remembered something she'd told him without him even asking her anything. "Then why did you say you loved me?"

_A/N_

_And all things begin to come together. They're remembering the incident now. Maybe they forgot it because they didn't want to remember it. Anyway. Some answers are being revieled. But will Botan be able to answer Hiei's question? You'll see. Plese don't hate me. _


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

Botan could feel her cheeks getting red again. "I... I said I loved you?" she stammered.

He nodded. "Even before I asked you anything, before I asked you to be my mate, you said to me 'I love you'. I never asked if you loved me and we weren't high or drunk," he gave her a once over as he figured out some things. "You were telling the truth weren't you?"

"I... I...," she stuttered, unsure of what she should say. _I said I loved him? Oh my god! He wasn't ever suppost to find that out! Wait! What am I saying? Do I love him... Why else would I tell him that if it wasn't true? _She looked at him. He was waiting for an answer. But what could she tell him?

She'd promised to be his mate and told him she loved him before she'd said yes. What was left to say? She started to regret remembering the event in the cave. Things were less complicated when they hadn't known.

"Welll?" he asked, sounding impatient when she took so long to give him an answer.

"I...," she said again, trying to collect her thoughts. What should she tell him? The trueth? A lie? But which would be true and which would be the lie? Her telling him she really did love him or her telling him she hadn't ment what she'd said when she'd said it. Somehow that responce wouldn't be believeable. By either him or her.

Finally she opted for the usual responce for questions like this. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" he asked, unconvinced.

"It might have been an uh... spontanious thing... like when you tell someone you love them when they fix your car you for. You don't really mean it but you say it anyway," she said rather lamely.

Hiei didn't buy it. "Judgeing from the situation we'd been in at the time I highly doubt that was the reason."

Botan wasn't about to give up on her theory, not quite yet. "Well it _could_ have happened like that," she protested.

"Crap," he said, folding his arms. "That's the most pathetic excuse I have ever heard."

Botan was offended and didn't bother hiding it. "Well I don't have another answer," she snapped, putting her hands on her hips. "Unless you can think of a better one I suggest you deal with it."

"Hn," Hie grunted and turned away from her. "I can always find out if you were only being 'spontanious'."

"Oh yeah?" she challanged. "How do you intend to do that?"

Hiei turned back to her with serious eyes. He put out a hand and stepped toward her. Botan's eyes grew wide when she realized what he was going to do. She took a step back but his hand caught her wrist and he jerked her toward him. She yelped and smacked into his chest. Now he let go of her wrist and put both hands on her head as he stared intently into her eyes.

Botan froze as she felt Hiei probbing her mind. She wanted desperately to get away from him, to stop him from searching her head for an answer, but she couldn't tear herself away from his gaze. An eternity passed. Finally he let her go as a strange look crossed his face.

"So you weren't lying," she heard him whisper.

Now she was confused. "What are you talking about?"

He looked at her with that strange expression and said in a detached voice. "In that cave... you weren't lying."

She looked away. He'd caught her. She couldn't deny her feelings. She couldn't lie to herself anymore.

Silence...

Finally. "Why?"

"Why what?" she asked, looking back at him.

"Why do you love me?" he asked, looking dismayed at the fact. "I'm not worthy of such a thing. I'm the Forbidden Child. I don't deserve love. Why waste that emotion on me?"

_Why down grade youself? You're more important than you think. _"Because you're more important than you think," she replied, being completely honest.

He looked startled at her reply.

She felt she should explain further. "Hiei, you might not believe this, but you do have some good qualities. You're honorable, you love your sister, in a strange way you're loyal, and, as I told your sister once, you're a perfectly good person."

"You told Yukina that?" he asked, surprised. "Why?"

"Because Kuwabara was degrading you," she replied. "I couldn't let her think her brother was a monster-"

"But I _am _a monster!" he prostested, looking at his hands. "Don't you realize that? I'm not the kind of person you should bother defending."

She blinked. "You _want_ Yukina to think you're a monster?" she asked.

He bit back a retort and looked away. She wasn't being mean. She was just asking. "That's not what I ment," he said quietly.

"Then what did you mean?"

He said nothing. _I don't know what I ment. I don't know myself anymore. I've felt very different lately. Why don't I know myself anymore? And now... She loves me? _

Botan noticed the fire demon was trembling, as if he was having a hard time controling his emotions. She'd never seen this side of Hiei before, not even when he was acting weird in that cave. This kind of problem didn't seem to fit him. He was too cold for this-

Plink...

Botan blinked and stared at something that had landed at her feet. A tiny orange orb, round like a pearle rested there. What was it? She looked back up at Hiei. His eyes were glistening incharacteristicly and a wet, sparkling streak ran down the side of his face.

_Hiei? Are you crying? _She remembered the last time she'd seen that wet mark. The first night of their vacation. What was wrong? Why had he been crying? Why was he crying now?

She suddenly felt bad for him. _So that must be why he hates snow, _she thought, remembering his reference to the Forbidden Child. _It reminds him of all the horrible things he's done and what was said about him at his birth. Does he think that sort of thing will make me reject him?_

Suddenly she did something totally unexpected. She stepped toward the koorime and gave him a hug. He stiffened in her arms but didn't pull back. After a moment she felt him raise his arms and timidly return it.

"It's okay," she said to him. "I'll accept you no matter what you've done. You don't have to let that make you hesitate. If you ever want to talk about it I'll listen."

Hiei didn't reply. He just rested his head on her shoulder, closed his eyes, and tried to accept what she'd said. His heart did but his mind still had questions, questions he didn't feel like asking, not here and not now. He just wanted this moment to last as long as possible as the words she'd spoken sunk in. _She can't be lying, _he thought, feeling some of her blue hair tickle his cheek and fill his nose with the scent of lavender. _Not after what I found out... No... she's not lying..._

_A/N_

_This is not the last chapter. _

_Don't hurt me. I was thinking about Chrono Crusade a little when I wrote this. I think it came out pretty good. Now he knows but she doesn't yet. He hasn't told her. _

_If you have time why don't you check out my new HB fic? It's called "Broken Trust" you don't have to but I'd appreciate it if you did. If you do let me know what you think... so far..._


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

Botan stood near the ice, waiting for the call to step on. Beside her was Hiei, saying nothing but looking slightly nervous and a little angry. She had to wonder why. Was it because of her or because they would be the last couple to skate that night? The others had already gone so she and Hiei would be called soon. She glanced at the judges but they were still tallying the score from the last couple and it would take awhile. She wished they would hurry up so she could get this over with. She looked back at Hiei. He looked away quickly as if he'd been looking at her.

"Hey," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to be nervous. It won't be that long. Three minutes at most."

"Hn," he shrugged her hand off but said nothing.

Botan couldn't help feeling a little hurt. Ever since what happened yesterday it seemed he wasn't speaking to her. She didn't know why but she hoped that whatever was wrong would be cleared up soon. She'd had enough of strange behavior from him.

About that time their names were called and Botan turned to Hiei. "C'mon," she said, taking his arm. "It's our turn."

He said nothing to her but let her lead him onto the ice.

The two struck a pose and the music began. Even though Hiei had only practiced once and seemed to be avoiding her on the ice too their routine went pretty well, maybe even better than practice; for one thing Hiei didn't fall once. A short time later the music ended and so did their routine. Botan smiled at Hiei to show him she was proud at how well he did but he looked away from her. She sighed and followed him off the ice.

A few minutes later their scores were read and compared. The man annouced the winners and Botan gasped in surprise. They'd won. "Hiei, we won!" she exclaimed turning to him. But he was gone.

She sighed again and went up to get the prize all by herself.

* * *

After the competition everyone headed into the lodge ballroom for the party. Botan went out of the way and dressed up a little more than usual, wearing most of her hair down and doting a skirt instead of the usual pants. When she stepped into the ballroom with Shizuru, Keiko, and Yukina she scanned the room for the boys then realized they hadn't arrived yet. She was disappointed. Ever since their little moment in the closet the day before Hiei seemed to be avoiding her. True he'd just skated with her an hour ago but even then he seemed distant, like he'd rather be avoiding her. She started to wonder if he was purposely trying to avoid her.

_What did I do now? _she thought, looking around herself for the traditional black outfit. _Did I do something to make him mad again? _She knew that couldn't be true. When she'd hugged him he'd hugged her back. He seemed to welcome her feelings but... where was he now and was he regretting everything?

Yukina noticed Botan's downcast look and asked. "What's wrong, Botan?"

"Oh nothing," the blue haired girl said, making a cat face. "Why would you think anything was wrong?"

"I noticed the look on your face," the ice maidan answered. "And you keep looking around the ballroom."

Botan sighed. "I'm looking for Hiei," she replied. "but I can't seem to find him. I don't think he's coming after all."

"Why would you be looking for Hiei?" Keiko asked. "I thought you didn't like him."

_But I do. More than you'll ever know..._

"Leave her alone about it," Shizuru told the brown haired girl. To Botan she said. "Don't worry Botan. One way or another he'll be here."

"I hope so," the ferry girl said, slightly depressed. "But I keep getting the worse feeling he won't."

"Maybe he's just being shy?"

Botan shook her head. Shy didn't strike her as Hiei. He was never shy. Just quite, unless there was something that had to be said. Botan knew shyness wasn't making him avoid her. Embarresment maybe but not shyness.

That's when Keiko exclaimed. "There they are!" and pointed toward the french doors.

Botan looked up. She saw the four boys just entering the room. Yusuke and Kuwabara were arguing about something and Hiei glared at everyone and everything as Kurama probed him along.

"Hey guys, over here!" Keiko called, waving.

The boys noticed her and came over. Kuwabara was the first one there. He gushed out compliments to Yukina then grabbed her hand and whisked her onto the dance floor. Keiko and Yusuke walked away next. Shizuru waited for Kurama who was arguing with Hiei.

"You _have_ to do this, Hiei!" the fox hissed in his freind's ear. "She's your fiance!"

"I know. I know!" the fire demon growled, not wanting to be reminded again.

"Then get this over with," Kurama ordered, pushing his friend forward.

The fire demon took some off balance steps forward then regained it before he ran into Botan. He looked up at her and made that "Hn" sound before he took her arm and led her away.

"What was that about?" Shizuru asked Kurama.

"I'm not allowed to say," he replied, taking her arm. "Let's dance."

* * *

Hiei and Botan sat down at a table by one of the big floor to ceiling windows that let in the outside view. Hiei looked out the window at the scenery and refused to meet Botan's eyes. She didn't mind too much but it made her wonder what he was thinking and what he was going to do.

"Hiei?" she said after a few minutes.

"I've been thinking about what you said," he spoked up, still refusing to look at her.

"About what?" she'd said many things and wasn't sure what he was talking about.

"In the cave when you said you loved me," he looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I need to hear it again."

"What?"

He turned to look at her, his face holding a slight blush. "I need to hear you say those words again," he said. "Out of your own mouth not your mind and not because you were making love. I need you to be serious about it. Once. Just once."

Botan said nothing. He knew she liked him, he'd read her mind, but he needed her to admit it without any pressure. She took a deep breath and sighed it out. It couldn't hurt to say it again. "I love you," she said in a voice only he could hear. "I have for awhile but was always afraid to admit it to you or myself."

A slight smile crossed his lips. He'd heard what he needed to hear. The thing he'd pondered since yesterday was finally confirmed. He leaned toward her. She blushed at the closeness of his face. Before she knew what was happening he kissed her right on the lips and this time it had nothing to do with hormones. This was the real thing. Botan put her hand on his cheek and kissed him back. This was a whole lot better than the last time and this time she realized she wanted to kiss him. It didn't feel wrong. This was right and always had been.

When their lips parted Botan smiled and said. "Let's dance!" before she grabbed his arm and pulled him onto the dance floor.

At first he tried to pry himself loose but Botan's grip didn't slacken. He sighed and just let her lead him. It couldn't hurt to do this... just once...

They didn't dance for very long though, just one song, then they headed outside to the lodges back porch. Once outside they leaned against the railing and stared up at the star covered sky for a moment.

"Botan," Hiei said after a few minutes had gone by.

"Yes?" she said, turning her head to look at him.

He turned his head toward her slightly and asked a question that surprised her. "Will you marry me?"

She stared at him. Why was he asking her again? She'd already said she would and had the bite mark to prove it. Maybe he was making sure she'd ment it. Making sure she knew what she was getting into if she did.

"Of course I will, Hiei," she said. "I love you."

He smiled and kissed her again. About that time the sky was covered by clouds and snow started falling. Both noticed and broke away as the flakes stuck to their hair and clothes.

Hiei smiled slightly. "Maybe," he said, looking up at the falling snow. "Snow isn't as bad as I first thought."

She smiled as well as she felt his fingers wrap around hers. "Yes," she said, looking at the scenery. "Maybe you're right."

THE END

_A/N_

_This is it. I'm not completely satisfied with how this ended but I think it was okay. The hardest part for me was the skating competition because I didn't write that part down on paper at all. I hadn't really been planning on doing it but all well. I didn't put much effort into it... Oh brother. It's there. Well thanks for reading my HieixBotan story. I'm sure you'l be reading more fics from me about this couple in the future so keep an eye out for them. Once again, thanks for all the reviews and encouragement. You guys are great. _


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